Why is Shikhar Dhawan not playing today against Rajasthan Royals? Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran reveals reason

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Shikhar Dhawan missed out on the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Saturday (April 13) due to a niggle. Shikhar Dhawan had injured his right shoulder while attempting a catch in Punjab's last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Sam Curran, the Punjab Kings captain for the match, revealed that Atharva Taide was playing in place of Shikhar Dhawan. He also announced that Liam Livingstone would play the match for Punjab Kings, who have managed to win just two of their first five matches.

"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," Sam Curran said at toss in Mullanpur.

Sam Curran led Punjab Kings three times last season in the absence of Dhawan. The team managed to win twice under his leadership. The all-rounder was acquired for Rs 18.5 crore in the IPL 2023 auction.

Shikhar Dhawan is the leading run-scorer for Punjab Kings in this season so far. He has scored 152 runs in five matches at an average of 30.40 and a questionable strike rate of 125.61.

The onus will be on senior England batter Jonny Bairstow to give Punjab Kings a good start in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan.

Liam Livingstone returns for PBKS

Liam Livinsgtone has also been introduced in the place of in-form Ashutosh Sharma, who is one of the five Impact Substitute players for Punjab in the match. Livingstone has scored 83 runs at an average of 83 and a strike rate of 162.74 in the three matches he has played this season. He remained unbeaten on two occasions.

Punjab Kings Playing 11 vs RR: Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada