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The Punjab Kings coach, Sanjay Bangar, has confirmed that their captain Shikhar Dhawan is likely to be ruled out from the IPL 2024 for seven to 10 days due to a shoulder injury. The 38-year-old had already missed out on playing against Rajasthan Royals in their previous match in the IPL season, which the Punjab Kings lost by three wickets.
At Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, the Punjab Kings were captained by Sam Curran against Rajasthan Royals, in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan on Saturday, April 13. After being put into bat first, PBKS huffed and puffed into reaching 147/8, but they managed to stretch the contest to the last over when Shimron Hetmyer finished it off in style for RR.
During the post-match presser, Sanjay Bangar alluded to the reason why Shikhar Dhawan didn’t play against Rajasthan Royals before giving an update on his fitness. He was quoted as saying, as per ESPNcricinfo, “He's (Shikhar Dhawan) 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,” the Punjab Kings coach added.
The loss against Rajasthan Royals was the second in a row at home for Punjab Kings, which has meant that they are stuck in the bottom half of the IPL 2024 points table. Nearing the halfway stage of the league season, PBKS have won only two matches in six, with just one victory in their newly built home stadium.