IPL 2023: Why is Shikhar Dhawan not playing and captaining Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants?

Punjab Kings play Lucknow Super Giants in their game five of the current IPL 2023 season on Saturday, April 13th, the second game of a doubleheader. However, PBKS were dealt a significant setback before the game as usual skipper Shikhar Dhawan did not take the field. Instead, Punjab drafted in England all-rounder Sam Curran to lead the team in Dhawan’s absence. Curran won the toss and elected to bowl first before breaking the news.

Dhawan is the most important player for PBKS in the current IPL 2023 campaign. He has scored 233 runs in four games, which puts him in first place for the Orange Cap. Dhawan was hurt in the last encounter, and Curran confirmed that he would be out for the game against LSG. The fact that Dhawan’s availability for the next game is still up in the air has only added to PBKS’s worries.

IPL 2023: Why is Shikhar Dhawan not playing and captaining Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants?

“Shikhar picked up an injury last game, don’t know how bad it is but hopefully he won’t be out long. His absence is huge,” said Curran after he won the toss and opted to bowl first against LSG.

The match will be LSG’s third straight victory in IPL 2023, after victories against SRH and RCB.

Teams:

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

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