Why is Bairstow not playing: Why Jonny Bairstow is not playing IPL 2022 for Punjab Kings?

Why Bairstow not playing IPL 2022: The English wicket-keeper batter had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad between 2019-2021.

The ongoing 15th season will be the fourth Indian Premier League season for England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow. Having represented Sunrisers Hyderabad between 2019-2021, Bairstow is slated to play for Punjab Kings this season.

In 28 innings across three seasons for SRH, Bairstow had scored 1,038 runs at an average of 41.52 and a strike rate of 142.19 including one century and seven half-centuries. Overall, Bairstow has scored 3,904 runs in in 153 T20 innings at an average and strike rate of 30.74 and 137.56 respectively.

Bairstow, who had priced himself at INR 1.5 crore in the mega auction, allured interest from Delhi Capitals, Kings and Sunrisers before PBKS eventually bid INR 6.75 crore for him.

Why is Bairstow not playing IPL 2022 for Punjab Kings?

Having said that, it is worth a mention that Bairstow hasn’t played any IPL 2022 match for Punjab till now. Bairstow, who was in West Indies for a three-match Test series until last week, had landed India on Thursday.

It was due to a mandatory three-day quarantine period that Bairstow didn’t play Punjab’s second match against Kolkata Knight Riders last night.

Set to play their third match against defending champions Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai tomorrow, Bairstow is likely to be available for selection.

Kings, who have played Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa as a specialist wicket-keeper batter in place of Bairstow thus far, face a dilemma with respect to accommodating Bairstow. Highest run-scorer for the team in the first two matches, Rajapaksa’s 74 runs have come at a strike rate of 238.70 (highest for batters with more than 50 runs in IPL 2022).

Assuming that PBKS include Bairstow for another Englishman Liam Livingstone, it would be too short a run for a player who has been bought for an opulent INR 11.5 crore.