Cricket fans across the globe are just few hours away from witness the biggest cricketing action in Indian Premier League (IPL) which is set to kick off from March 22. Meanwhile on the eve of IPL 2024, skippers from nine of the ten franchises gathered for captains' photoshoot. But what left everyone surprised was Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan's presence from the scene. Instead of Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma was present during the captains' photoshoot. The reason why Jitesh Sharma was present at the time of captains photoshoot was because he is PBKS' vice captain for the IPL 2024 and had to be there in absence of his leader Dhawan.
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Besides Jitesh, Ruturaj Gaikwad's presence during the captains photoshoot also grabbed eyeballs. However, moments after it was revealed that he will be leading Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 as MS Dhoni has stepped down from captaincy post.
Punjab Kings' not so impressive track record in IPL
PBKS, rechristened from the name Kings XI Punjab, are one of the teams who have never lifted the IPL trophy so far. However, PBKS did reach the semifinals in 2008 and were also the runners-up in 2014 edition. The franchise has had a disappointing run so far in the IPL history as they failed to qualify for the playoffs for nine years. Their constant change in team's leadership has hindered their ability to find a winning formula. Notably, PBKS will start their IPL 2024's campaign against Delhi Capitals on March 25.
Here is Punjab Kings' schedule for IPL 2024's first-leg:
| Teams | Date | Venue | Time |
| Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals | March 23 | Mohali | 3:30 PM IST |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings | March 25 | Bengaluru | 7:30 PM IST |
| Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings | March 30 | Lucknow | 7:30 PM IST |
| Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings | April 4 | Ahmedabad | 7:30 PM IST |
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Punjab Kings Team's IPL 2024 Full Squad:
| Wicketkeepers | Batters | All-rounders | Bowlers |
| Jonny Bairstow (ENG) | Shikhar Dhawan (c) | Liam Livingstone (ENG) | Harpreet Brar |
| Prabhsimran Singh | Harpreet Bhatia | Atharva Taide | Arshdeep Singh |
| Jitesh Sharma | Rilee Rossouw (SA) | Rishi Dhawan | Kagiso Rabada (SA) |
| Shashank Singh | Sam Curran (ENG) | Nathan Ellis (AUS) | |
| Sikandar Raza (ZIM) | Rahul Chahar | ||
| Shivam Singh | Vidhwath Kaverappa | ||
| Chris Woakes (ENG) | Prince Choudhary | ||
| Ashutosh Sharma | |||
| Vishwanath Singh | |||
| Tanay Thyagarajan | |||
| Harshal Patel |
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