MUMBAI: Flying high after winning their first two matches, the Punjab Kings are set to be bolstered further when their explosive English batsman Liam Livingstone, who was having nets at the Old Trafford recently, joins them next week.
"He has told us that he's likely to join us next week," a Punjab Kings official told TOI on Friday.
On Thursday night, PBKS beat Rajasthan Royals at Guwahati.
Livingstone, a hard-hitting, feared batsman in world cricket, apart from being a useful off-spinner, was bought by PBKS f0r Rs 11.5 crores in the 2022 auction.
The 29-year-old has not played competitive cricket since December after suffering a knee injury on his Test debut in Pakistan four months ago. He had also endured an ankle injury last year and that flared up in recent weeks to make his rehab tougher.
The Shikhar Dhawan-led side will next play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 9. They play their fourth game at home on April 13, and Livingstone should be available for that.
"(I'm) getting there, finally," Livingstone said on LancsTV's coverage of Lancashire's opening County Championship
fixture against Surrey. "It's been a long road: three or four days a week at the gym over the last three or four months. Maybe towards the end of this week, or start of next week, I'll fly out to India and get going again.
"Feeling much better. I had some injections midway last week. It's settled it down a lot, finally been able to get outside and do some running and get back to proper cricket stuff. That's probably been about four or five days now, so just trying to build back up to match fitness now."
Livingstone had hammered 437 runs last season at a strike rate of 182.08.
