IPL 2024: Jitesh Sharma to lead Punjab Kings in last league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Jitesh Sharma will lead the team in the absence of Sam Curran.

On Saturday, May 18, Punjab Kings (PBKS) announced that Jitesh Sharma will lead the side in their last match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad.

This comes after stand-in captain Sam Curran flew back to England following a Man of the Match performance against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Curran along with opener Jonny Bairstow flew back home as they are slated to play in the four-match T20I series against Pakistan starting May 22.

Sam Curran captained PBKS in the absence of their regular captain Shikhar Dhawan, who has been on the sidelines due to injury after playing the first five games of the season. Under Dhawan’s captaincy, PBKS managed to win two games including a heist against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, under Curran’s leadership, PBKS played seven games and managed to win three.

With Shikhar Dhawan still not being available due to his injury, the franchise has now appointed wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma as captain to lead the side in their last match of the season against SRH.

PBKS made the announcement through a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and stated, “Skipper Ji-𝙩𝙚𝙯𝙯 reporting! #SherSquad, presenting to you our captain for the final game against SRH.”

Will play fearless cricket: Jitesh Sharma ahead of SRH clash

After being named as captain of the side for the last league game of the season, Jitesh Sharma told reporters that the side will play fearless cricket against SRH as they’ve nothing to lose.

“Yes, obviously, Punjab Kings is famous for that only (fearless cricket) and now in the last game, we’ll be more fearless that we’ve nothing to lose. Everyone will play with their good intent and we’ll play for win,” said Jitesh at the pre-match press conference.

However, it will be important for SRH to win the game, as a win here will help them reach 17 points and if Rajasthan Royals lose their final league match against Kolkata Knight Riders, the Hyderabad-based franchise will finish in second spot on the points table.

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