NEWS
Follow UsPunjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out for at least 7-10 days, head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar confirmed on Saturday (April 13). In his absence, Sam Curran led the side in PBKS' three-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals (RR), and is likely to continue to do so against Mumbai Indians (April 18) and Gujarat Titans (April 21), which will be played in Mullanpur.
"He's having a shoulder injury, so he is likely to be out for at least a couple of days, I would say," Bangar said.
"Having an experienced opener, somebody like Shikhar, who has experience of playing on such wickets, becomes extremely crucial [for the team]," Bangar said in the post-match press conference.
"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 7-10 days."
There was confusion as Curran came out for the toss ahead of Jitesh Sharma, who was believed to be the vice-captain of the side, given that he attended the captains' conference in Chennai ahead of the season. Bangar clarifies that the wicketkeeper-batter was never handed the role.
"No, no, he [Jitesh] wasn't the designated vice-captain," Bangar said.
"The impression could have been because he attended the captains' seminar, or meeting, 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," he further explained.
Dhawan has not had the best of seasons so far, yet is PBKS' leading run-getter with 152 runs at 30.40 and a strike rate of 125.61. In fact, the poor form from their batters, including Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh and Prabhsimran Singh has been the primary reason behind their side winning just two of their six matches so far.
In Dhawan's absence, Atharva Taide opened the innings with Bairstow, scoring just 15 off 12 as Punjab managed just 38/1 in their powerplay to eventually finish at 147/8, thanks to some late cameos.
Bangar admits that the fact that the top-order is not making a lot of runs is a cause for concern. "Certainly is a cause for concern that the top order is not making enough runs for us," Bangar said.
"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 has 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."
PBKS are currently eighth on the points table having picked up just four points from their six matches so far. After beating Gujarat in a nail-biting finish, they have lost two in a row and will look to arrest this slide when they take on Mumbai next.
