It was a strange evening in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Punjab Kings (PBKS) fans as skipper Shikhar Dhawan did not come out for the toss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday (April 13). Dhawan, who is one of the star attractions in the side was replaced by England’s T20 World Cup-winning hero and most expensive player on the team roster Sam Curran at the toss. However, there was a major reason why Dhawan was not included in the PBKS side.

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Reason revealed for Dhawan’s omission

According to Cricbuzz, it is reported that Dhawan picked up a niggle in the build-up to the match and was therefore not available for selection. Atharva Taide was roped in as a substitute for Dhawan while Ashutosh Sharma continues to be part of the bench.

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So far in the IPL 2024, Dhawan has scored 152 runs in five matches and averages 30.2 for the season. However, Atharva Taide did not make the most of his opportunity and was dismissed for 15 off 12 by Avesh Khan in his first over for the side. Avesh was called in as the first change in the bowling unit by Samson which paid dividends for away side.

At the time of writing, PBKS were 29/1 in 4.3 overs with Jonny Bairstow (10) and Prabhsimran Singh (2) in the middle.  

“Shikhar picked up a niggle, that’s why I’m here. We would have bowled first as well, but we’ll now have to put the runs on the board. The balance has been good, we’d have liked to win a few more games, but the middle-order looks good, especially Shashank and Ashutosh. We’ve got exciting players and plenty of quality. We’ve Atharva Taide coming in for Shikhar tonight, Livingstone is back as well,” stand-in skipper Curran said at the toss.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Rahul Chahar, Ashutosh Sharma, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Nathan Ellis

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