(Watch) Liam Livingstone arrives in Mohali to join Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2023
Punjab Kings have received a significant boost ahead of their remaining matches in IPL 2023 as hard-hitting all-rounder Liam Livingstone has joined the squad. The Englishman will reportedly be available for the Kings' clash against the Gujarat Titans on Thursday in Mohali.
The 29-year-old was unavailable for the Punjab Kings' first three games as he was recuperating from a knee injury that ruled him out of action in December.
The swashbuckling cricketer's last match was in November during the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan. He stayed unbeaten on a single and watched Ben Stokes hit the winning run from the non-striker's end.
Livingstone was one of the standout players for the Kings in IPL 2022. Having fetched a massive INR 11.50 crores, he repaid the franchise's faith with 437 runs in 14 games, striking at 182.08.
The Lancashire cricketer scored four fifties last year. Punjab's campaign has also gotten off to a good start as Shikhar Dhawan has captained them to two wins in three matches. With 225 runs in three matches, the southpaw is currently the highest run-getter in IPL 2023.
"Finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel" - Liam Livingstone
Last week, Livingstone highlighted that there has been a drastic improvement in his condition and was hoping to fly out to India as soon as possible. The 29-year-old also claimed that he has put all his efforts into regaining match fitness.
He said, as quoted by Sky Sports:
"It's been a long road. Finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe towards the end of this week, the start of next week, I'll fly out to India and get going again. Hopefully, over the next couple of days, I'll get the clearance to head out there. I'm feeling much better.
"I had some injections midway through last week, so it's settled it down a lot. I've finally been able to get outside, do some running and get back to proper cricket stuff, that's been about four or five days now so I'm just trying to build back up to match fitness."
It’s been a long couple months but it’s time to get back to work… see you soon @PunjabKingsIPL 🙏❤️
Punjab Kings beat the Titans the only time the two teams locked horns in IPL 2022.