IPL 2023: Three players who can replace Jonny Bairstow at Punjab Kings

Jonny Bairstow is a marauder with the bat and has demolished the bowling line-up with his swashbuckling stroke play. He has featured in 95 ODIs and aggregated 3634 runs at a strike rate of 104.12. Coming to the shortest format, the 33-year-old has plundered 1337 runs in 66 T20Is at a strike rate of 136.42.

Bairstow has been phenomenal in the Indian Premier League and knocked the winds out of top-quality bowling line-ups. He has hammered 1291 runs in 39 IPL games at a strike rate of 142.65. He fared well with the bat in the last season too and smashed 253 runs in 11 games for Punjab Kings at a strike rate of 144.57. However, one would not witness Jonny don the Punjab jersey in IPL 2023.

Bairstow has been sidelined from cricket since September due to a freak incident he suffered while playing golf. However, after a prolonged injury layoff, he is expected to be up and running in some weeks. But given England will play The Ashes in June, the ECB has decided against issuing a NOC to the wicketkeeper-batter for the upcoming season of the cash-rich league.

With Bairstow set to miss the 16th IPL edition, the Punjab franchise would need to ponder over his replacement. There are some gun players who might be on the radar of PBKS to fill the England batter’s void.

3. Travis Head

Travis Head has been a proven performer for Australia across formats. He has taken the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and changed the course of the game in the favour of his side. When on song, the Adelaide-born has put even the best of bowlers under the pump and left the world in awe of his performances.

Head has featured in 36 Tests and notched up 2361 runs at an average of 45.40. Talking about the 50-over format, he has accumulated 1912 runs in 54 matches at an average of 40.68. Besides his batting might, the 29-year-old is quite handy with his off-spin.

Moreover, Head has the ability to bat both in the top order and the middle order and thereby provides versatility to the batting line-up. Further, his skills with the ball are an added bonus. Therefore, Punjab Kings could ponder over adding him to their arsenal for the coming season of the cash-rich league.