The veteran Dhawan was ruled out of the match against Rajasthan Royals which prompted the Punjab Kings unit to be led by English all-rounder Sam Curran.
Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan could be out of action for up to 10 days due to a shoulder injury, revealed PBKS’ head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar after their loss to Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur on Saturday.
The veteran Dhawan was ruled out of the match which prompted the Punjab unit to be led by English all-rounder Sam Curran.
“He’s having a shoulder injury, so he is likely to be out for at least a couple of days, I would say. Having an experienced opener, somebody like Shikhar, who has experience of playing on such wickets, becomes extremely crucial (for the team).
“We have to wait and see how he responds to the treatment. At the moment, it seems that he could be out of action for at least seven-ten days,” said Bangar in the post-match press conference.
Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma had represented Punjab at the the captains’ meet ahead of the tournament opener in March with Dhawan staying back in Mullanpur with a fever. The official IPL handle on social media also referred to him as the team’s vice-captain.
There was confusion and surprise then when Curran walked out for the toss. However, Bangar stated that the team were clear about their vice-captain.
“No, no, he (Jitesh) wasn’t the designated vice-captain. The impression could have been because he attended the captains’ seminar at the start of the IPL.
“But the thought was always that … because Sam has led the team in the previous year as well; he was late to arrive from UK and he wanted to have a few (training) sessions, that’s the reason we couldn’t send him to Chennai. Hence Jitesh was sent, because the directive was that a player has to attend.
“It wasn’t the case that Jitesh was the stand-in captain. We were very clear in our mind that if at all there had to be an opening, Sam Curran will be taking over and do the job as the captain,” said the former India batting coach.
Punjab have been hampered by the lack of solid starts from openers Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow. Dhawan’s replacement, Atharva Taide too failed to fire against Rajasthan.
“Certainly is a cause for concern that the top order is not making enough runs for us. They are trying hard – I am not saying that they are not applying themselves – but it’s just not coming.
“Low-scoring games, especially at Mullanpur, the way the wicket is… that also is a factor. Because if you see, some of the scores have been pretty low.
“All the three games that we have played here, in the first six overs, with the new ball, the wicket tends to just jag a little bit, and uneven bounce as well. So maybe that is also a contributing factor because, not only us, the visiting teams and their top order are facing issues,” Bangar remarked.
Source:indianexpress.com