IPL: Bairstow available for Punjab Kings for full season

England batter Jonny Bairstow will be available for the entire duration of the Indian Premier League, beginning March 22, despite returning home only recently following a long Test tour of India.

On the sidelines of the Dharamsala Test, the BCCI officials were in talks with their England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) counterparts over the availability of their players for the IPL.

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 the runs in the IPL.