Sanjay Bangar confirmed that the designated captain of PBKS Shikhar Dhawan will be out of action for 7-10 days. Dhawan who suffered an injury during the team’s last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad wasn’t a part of the playing XI against Rajasthan Royals as a result vice-captain Sam Curran fulfilled the role in the absence of Dhawan
Coach’s Corner
Addressing the media after the match against Rajasthan Royals Bangar said “He’s having a shoulder injury, so he is likely to be out for at least a couple of days, I would say.” Bangar admitted that the absence of Shikhar Dhawan from the playing XI was a big setback for the team. “Having an experienced opener, somebody like Shikhar, who has experience of playing on such wickets, becomes extremely crucial [for the team],” Bangar said in the post-match press conference. “We have to wait and see how he responds to the treatment. At the moment, it seems that he could be out of action for at least 7-10 days.”
The Confusion
In a separate turn of events, there was a bit of confusion when Sam Curran walked in at the toss as everyone thought that it was Jitesh who was the designated vice-captain. Reacting on the incident Bangar said, “No, no, he [Jitesh] wasn’t the designated vice-captain.” “The impression could have been because he attended the captains’ seminar, or meeting, at the start of the IPL.
The Reason
But the thought was always that… because Sam has led the team in the previous year as well; he was late to arrive from UK and he wanted to have a few [training] sessions, that’s the reason we couldn’t send him to Chennai. Hence Jitesh was sent because the directive was that a player has to attend. “It wasn’t the case that Jitesh was the stand-in captain. We were very clear in our mind that if at all there had to be an opening, Sam Curran will be taking over and do the job as the captain,” he further explained.