PBKS hopeful of having Shikhar Dhawan back for last 2 games

Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shikhar Dhawan has been out of action since sustaining a shoulder injury against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 9. As a result, Sam Curran has led the side in the following matches, with Prabhsimran Singh entrusted to open the innings. In his five innings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Dhawan has slammed 152 runs at a strike rate of 125.61, with a highest score of 70.

Providing an update on his injury, PBKS spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi said that Dhawan's rehabilitation is going well, but he will miss the upcoming fixture against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Dharamsala on May 5 (Sunday).

"Dhawan's rehabilitation is on track. He is doing well. He is not available for the next game. Hopefully, he will be back for the final two games," Joshi said ahead of the game against CSK.

"Shikhar was also injured last year. He was playing well but Sam had to come up as captain because of his injury. Sam has come up as a leader yet again and he has stepped up with the team."

PBKS have won back-to-back games for the first time in IPL 2024. They knocked over a target of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) — a record chase in T20s. Three days ago, they followed that up with a comprehensive win over CSK at Chepauk.

As a result, PBKS still remain in contention for a place in the playoffs, but Joshi says that his side are just focused putting their best efforts and not on the points table calculations.

"The team conversations that we have had, our approach is to put in the best effort and to play to win the game. The table calculations will come on it's own," Joshi said. 

We do not see that part very closely. What we look at is what are the areas we can do better, what we have not done over the past few games, what best we can do and how we can improve as a team. That is the conversation we have with the players."

"Our plan of action is to keep winning. The challenge is always with the bat and ball. It's a good surface. I keep telling players to hold their horses and execute their skill."

The former Indian spinner also does not expect the team to make many changes to their XI, which has been on a good run lately. "No, we do not think we will be making any changes. Because we want to keep up the winning squad," he said. 

PBKS currently lie in seventh place in the IPL 2024 points table, having won four of their 10 games so far. 

Play Asli Fantasy on Cricket.com. Download the app now!