IPL 2024: Blessing in disguise for Punjab Kings? Shikhar Dhawan to miss two more matches

Sam Curran captained PBKS against RR in absence of Shikhar Dhawan.

Shikhar Dhawan, the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) captain, could be sidelined for at least seven to ten days with a shoulder injury, according to the team’s head of cricket development, Sanjay Bangar, following the tight loss to the Rajasthan Royals in ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Dhawan missed Saturday night’s game against the Royals. All-rounder Sam Curran captained PBKS in his absence as the home side lost a close game by just 3 wickets at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur.

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and chose to bowl first. PBKS achieved 147/8 after a top-order failure, thanks to Ashutosh Sharma’s 31, Jitesh Sharma’s 29, and Liam Livingstone’s 21. For RR, Avesh Khan and Keshav Maharaj both took two wickets.

In response, the game went down to the wire. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 39, Tanush Kotian opened the batting with 24 in 31, and Shimron Hetmyer hit the winning six. RR triumphed by three wickets, with Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran taking two wickets each for PBKS.

“We’ll have to wait and see”- Sanjay Bangar on Shikhar Dhawan’s injury

And now Punjab Kings’ director of cricket development Bangar has stated that Shikhar Dhawan is set to miss at least a couple of games more in IPL 2024 due to the said shoulder injury.

“Unfortunately, we missed out on having Shikhar [tonight] because he has a shoulder injury. So, he’s likely to be out for a couple of days [games] I would say. We’ll have to wait and see how he responds to the treatment, but at the moment it seems that he could be out of action for at least seven to 10 days,” Sanjay Bangar said at the post-match presser.

They will face Mumbai Indians in their next match on Thursday (April 18), followed by the reverse fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday (April 21), to complete their five-game home stand at the newly inaugurated venue in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.

Dhawan is anticipated to recover in time for the team’s next away encounter, which is scheduled for April 26 in Kolkata.

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