Sam Curran Unveils Why Shikhar Dhawan Isn't Leading Punjab Kings Against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 Match

In a surprising turn of events, Punjab Kings' regular captain Shikhar Dhawan was absent for the toss in their match against Rajasthan Royals at Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Saturday. Instead, star PBKS all-rounder Sam Curran stepped in for the toss alongside RR's Sanju Samson. RR won the toss and chose to bowl first. Curran later disclosed that Dhawan was sidelined due to a minor injury.

"Shikhar (Dhawan) picked up a niggle, that's why I'm here," Curran explained.

"We would have bowled first as well, but we'll now have to put the runs on the board. The balance has been good, we'd have liked to win a few more games, but the middle-order looks good, especially Shashank (Singh) and Ashutosh (Sharma). We've got exciting players and plenty of quality. We've Atharva Taide coming in for Shikhar tonight, (Liam) Livingstone is back as well," he added.

Rajasthan Royals also had key players missing, with Jos Buttler and Ravichandran Ashwin unavailable. Captain Sanju Samson mentioned this during the toss, emphasizing the team's focus on the process and building team strength despite challenges.

The playing XIs for both teams were as follows:

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (w), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada

April 13, 2024 7:48 p.m. 111

#trending #latest#Cricket #Punjab Kings#Rajasthan Royals #IPL 2024#Shikhar Dhawan#Sam Curran