Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach Brad Haddin revealed that Shikhar Dhawan will not be able to make a comeback in their next IPL 2024 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on May 9. Sam Curran, who has been leading the PBKS over the past few games, will continue to lead the side. Dhawan has been out of action since injuring his shoulder while fielding during the home game against Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 9.
Brad Haddin also admitted that Dhawan’s injury has been a setback for PBKS this season. The side is struggling with just eight points from 11 outings, winning four matches so far. The team need to win all three remaining games for playoffs.
“In any team that you are part of, it’s disappointing to lose your senior-most player for an extended period, and Shikhar is the most successful opener in this tournament,” PBKS’ assistant coach Brad Haddin said at the pre-match press conference.
PBKS management will assess the fitness of Dhawan in Delhi later this week.
"We go to Delhi after this game for a couple of days before we go to our next game in Guwahati. Shikhar will be assessed and then hopefully we can have some more positive news on him for the last couple of games. We will assess him when we get to Delhi. Fingers crossed," he added.
During the clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), PBKS went down by 28 runs at the same venue on May 5. Haddin expressed disappointment over the result in the previous game.
“We thought we just started to play some good cricket. Our batters started to find some good form after Kolkata and Chennai. And it was disappointing. We thought we were just starting to get some momentum back in the tournament. To lose the way we did was disappointing,” he further said.
Shikhar Dhawan’s IPL 2024 Performance
In the ongoing IPL, Shikhar has scored 152 runs in five matches at an average of 30.40 and a strike rate of 125.62.
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