Shikhar Dhawan Will Miss Jonny Bairstow's 'Jazba' in IPL 2023
Jonny Bairstow will miss IPL 2023 [Source: Twitter]
Punjab Kings will be without the services of England's Jonny Bairstow in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Bairstow is undergoing rehabilitation following a near career-ending limb injury last October. Australia's Matthew Short has been roped in as Bairstow's replacement.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who shared the dressing room with Bairstow last season said that the explosive batter's passion (Jazba) will be missed.
Punjab Kings posted a video on Instagram where Dhawan, along with other players and backroom staff members, shared their thoughts on Bairstow's absence.
Here's what Dhawan said
"Jonny’s Jazba will be missed both on and off the field. I’ll miss Jonny’s batting."
Bairstow had an average season last year, scoring 253 runs, after which the wicketkeeper-batter was retained for INR 6.75 crore ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction.
Short was the leading run-getter in the last edition of Big Bash League (BBL) 2022-23, amassing 458 runs for Adelaide Strikers.
The 27-year-old slammed one hundred and struck two fifties, apart from claiming 11 wickets.
Overall, the Victorian batter has scored 1,409 T20 runs from 67 appearances, which includes one ton and seven half-centuries.
The Kings will face off against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their opening IPL match this season on April 1 at Mohali.
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