IPL 2023: Matthew Short Joins Punjab Kings as Bairstow's Replacement, RR Sign Sandeep Sharma

Punjab Kings on Monday announced the replacement for wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow who has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with an injury. The franchise has signed Australian all-rounder Matthew Short for his base price of INR 20 lakh.

IPL 2023 is going to be Short’s maiden season. The opening batter was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the recent edition of the Big Bash League for scoring 458 runs and taking 11 wickets with his off-spin.

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“Punjab Kings have signed uncapped Australian all-rounder Matthew Short as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow. The England wicket-keeper batter is ruled out of IPL 2023 as he is yet to fully recover from an injury he sustained in September,” the official IPL release read.

Bairstow had undergone surgery on a broken leg and dislocated ankle in October and the Englishman was expected to return to full fitness in a couple of weeks’ time. However, the 16th edition of IPL which is set to kick start on March 31 came too soon for the swashbuckling batter.

Furthermore, with England set to take on Australia in the Ashes 2023 later this year, ECB reportedly decided to deny NOC to Bairstow who hasn’t played professional cricket since August.

Meanwhile, uncapped Indian pacer Sandeep Sharma has been roped in by the Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming season. The right-arm quick from Punjab will replace Prasidh Krishna in the squad.

Picked for his base price of INR 50 lakh, Sandeep is one of the most senior bowlers in the tournament. Before joining Rajasthan Royals, the fast bowler has represented Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past. He has played 104 IPL matches so far and picked up 114 wickets with an economy rate of 7.77. His best figures – 4/20 – came in IPL 2017, the season in which he ended up with 17 wickets in 13 games.

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