England batter Jonny Bairstow, who plays for Punjab Kings, will be available for the entire duration of this year’s IPL, beginning March 22, despite returning home only recently following a long Test tour of India.

Test regulars like skipper Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Mark Wood had already made themselves unavailable for the lucrative T20 league as part of ECB’s workload management following the five-Test series that ended in Dharamsala on Sunday.

“Bairstow is expected to arrive in India on March 18 or 19 and will be available for the team’s first game against Delhi Capitals on March 23,” said an IPL source.

Bairstow, who played his 100th Test in Dharamsala, had a forgettable time with the
bat in India and would be looking to be back among runs in the IPL.

His England teammate Harry Brook has, however, withdrawn from the tournament, citing personal reasons. Delhi Capitals had acquired Brook for Rs 4 crore by at the last auction.

Also a notable absentee from the England team during their Test tour, Brook was originally slated to participate in the series in India, but withdrew from the Test squad at the last minute.

Sanjay Bangar, who was appointed as cricket director at Punjab Kings, will double up as the batting coach of the side. The franchise has parted ways with Wasim Jaffer, who was the team’s batting consultant last season.

Punjab are expected to play their final two home games in Dharamsala. The other
five games will be held at the new stadium built in Mullanpur, Mohali.

Written with PTI inputs