Punjab Kings were without regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan as England all-rounder Sam Curran marshalled the troops in the absence of the veteran India opener on Sunday. Hosts Punjab Kings squared off against 2022 winners Gujarat Titans in match No.37 of the Indian Premier League 2024 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.

Dhawan-less Punjab have slipped to the eighth position in the IPL 2024 standings after losing to Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians in their last outing at the same venue. Leading the PBKS side for matchday 37 of the cash-rich league, Curran confirmed that Punjab are without senior batter Dhawan against the Gujarat Titans. Winning the toss and opting to bat, PBKS stand-in skipper Curran asserted that the Dhawan-less side is playing with the same team.

‘Shikhar is still not alright’: Curran

“We are gonna bat first. Third time we have used this pitch, excited to put pressure on the Gujarat bowlers first up and put a good score on the board. Any team can beat anyone. We know if we turn up with right plans and attitude we can win. It's about our overseas players taking more responsibility and helping the Indian players. Shikhar is still not alright, same team,” Curran said.

What happened to Dhawan?

Veteran Indian opener Dhawan is undergoing rehabilitation after picking up a shoulder injury. Dhawan injured his shoulder in Punjab's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 9. Punjab Kings coach Sanjay Bangar later confirmed that the PBKS skipper will be out of action for a week. Speaking on the eve of the IPL 2024 match between PBKS and GT, PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin revealed that Dhawan will soon be available for selection.

"It's difficult to replace someone like Shikhar. He's one of the most successful openers in the IPL. He has done it for many years and was starting to get his rhythm back before the unfortunate injury to his shoulder," Haddin said. Dhawan has slipped to the 32nd position in the Orange Cap standings of the new season. The PBKS opener is still Punjab's highest run-getter at the IPL 2024.

‘Dhawan has started to progress well’

Dhawan has scored 152 runs in 5 matches this season."We would like him back as soon as we can. He is an experienced head at the top of the order, so we're hoping that he is available for selection soon. He has started to progress well. We have seen some good signs over the last couple of days. We will decide on Sunday morning," Haddin concluded.

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