PBKS coach Brad Haddin has ruled out Shikhar Dhawan from playing in the match against RCB on May 9 and said that the opener would be assessed once they reach Delhi. Shikhar has been absent from the PBKS line for almost a month due to the injury. The PBKS skipper last paid against SRH on April 9.
Since then PBKS has lost 4 matches and won 2 and will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive while facing RCB at Dharamsala. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Haddin said that missing someone like Shikhar is a blow to the side as he is the most successful opener in IPL history.
“In any team that you’ve been a part of it, it’s disappointing to lose your most senior players for extended period of time and, yeah, and you don’t have to sit here and tell you about Shikhar’s record in IPL. He’s the most successful opener in this tournament. So to lose him for an extended period of time has been disappointed,” said Haddin.
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Fingers crossed: Haddin on Shikhar
Earlier, Sunil Joshi had said that Shikhar should be available for the final two matches and Haddin said that they will assess him once they reach Delhi. PBKS will face RR in Guwahati next and they will have pitstop in Delhi, where Shikhar will be assessed, according to Haddin.
“We go to Delhi after this game for a couple of days before we go to our next game in Guwahati and and Shikhar will be assessed. Then hopefully we can have some more positive news on the last couple of games. But we will assess him when we get to Delhi. Fingers crossed,” said Haddin.
In the 5 matches that he played in IPL 2024, Shikhar scored 152 runs with an average of 30.4 with a highest score of 70. Sam Curran has been leading PBKS in Shikhar’s absence. Punjab have two more matches remaining after the RCB game.
The first one will be against RR on 15 May before finishing off their league stage in Hyderabad against SRH on May 19.
Source Agencies
