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The Punjab Kings and England all-rounder Liam Livingstone departed India early in an attempt to have his knee “sorted” in time for the T20 World Cup in June.
Livingstone went down in the field during a loss to the Lucknow Super Giants last month, which caused him to miss two games early in the IPL season. Livingstone has experienced a string of muscle problems over the last two years. Later on, PBKS benched him in an attempt to discover the ideal overseas player combination; however, on Thursday, he made a comeback to the team during their loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
“IPL done for another year, had to get my knee sorted for the upcoming World Cup,” Livingstone wrote on Instagram. “Thanks once again to the Punjab Kings fans for all their love and support. Disappointing season as a team and personally, but as always I loved every minute of playing in the IPL”
Livingstone has left the tournament, having gone home after PBKS’s eight losses and four victories in their opening 12 games. His knee injury, according to reports, is not severe enough to jeopardise his chances of playing in the T20 World Cup, but he will need to take some time off before England plays Pakistan in four T20Is later this month.
In what he called a “disappointing” campaign, Livingstone found it difficult to have an influence on PBKS. In seven innings, he scored 111 runs at 22.20, struck at 142.30, and claimed three wickets in 12 overs. After a quiet SA20 season with MI Cape Town and a two-match spell with Sharjah Warriors, it prolongs his lean winter in franchise cricket.
The remaining players from England’s World Cup team that attended the Indian Premier League (IPL) are Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Phil Salt, and Reece Topley. They are anticipated to travel home this weekend. Before England’s maiden Twenty20 international match at Headingley on May 22, they will get together in Leeds.