Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shikhar Dhawan did not walk out for coin toss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 13 as he was ruled out of the home clash due to shoulder injury. In Dhawan’s absence, Sam Curran assumed captaincy instead of Jitesh Sharma, who was considered as PBKS’ vice-captain for the captains’ photo before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Bangar clarified that Jitesh was never named vice-captain and just filled in for an ill Dhawan for the captains' photoshoot in Chennai last month. Also, he revealed that the wicketkeeper-batter was hit on the head as he was batting without a helmet during practice session against spinners. He had 15 stitches to his eyebrow and took the field against RR despite the injury.
"Jitesh isn't the designated vice captain and I think maybe the impression could have been so because he attended the captain's seminar at the start of the IPL," Bangar said.
Curran was always the first choice
In the last season, Curran donned the captaincy hat when Dhawan was ruled out due to injury. Bangar further clarified that Curran would have went for the captains’ photoshoot as well instead of Jitesh but he arrived late.
"The thought was always to have Curran [stand-in] because he had led the team in the previous year as well. He was late to arrive from the UK and because he wanted to have few sessions, that's the reason we couldn't send him to Chennai for [briefing] and hence Jitesh was sent since the directive from the IPL [committee] was that a player has to attend... We were very clear in our minds that if at all there had to be an opening, Sam Curran would be taking over and will [fill in] as the team's captain," said the 38-year-old.
Hetmyer finishes it off after Curran’s double blow
Under Curran’s leadership, PBKS were able to take the game deep despite setting a below par target of 148. The English left-arm pacer was impressive with the ball. He conceded 25 runs from his quota of four overs and took crucial wickets in the penultimate over. However, Shimron Hetmyer single-handedly won the game for RR with one ball to spare.
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