The Punjab Kings squad has looked even more depleted as Kagiso Rabada and Shikhar Dhawan have been ruled out for the rest of the ongoing IPL 2024.
PBKS is already out of the playoff race and only has pride to play for. While they would have liked to exit the tournament on a positive note, their hopes have taken a hit with the latest setbacks. Both Rabada and Dhawan will miss PBKS’s final two league matches this season.
According to Gaurav Gupta of the Times of India, Rabada is suffering from abscesses and will return home to recover. Rabada played in PBKS’ first 11 matches of the season before missing the final match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The fast bowler is part of South Africa’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup and will look to make a full recovery soon. Talking about Rabada’s performance in IPL 2024, he got 11 wickets in 11 games.
On the other hand, Dhawan has not played a match for PBKS since April 9. The senior batsman is sidelined with a shoulder injury and will not participate again in IPL 2024. Dhawan finished his IPL 2024 campaign by playing five matches and scoring 152 runs.
#rip In a big blow to Punjab Kings pacer Kagiso Rabada and regular captain Shikhar Dhawan have been ruled out of their last two matches. Rabada suffers abscesses so he will fly back to South Africa #IPL
– Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) May 14, 2024
Apart from Dhawan and Rabada, PBKS will also be without Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran, who led the team in Dhawan’s absence. Livingstone recently announced that he would be leaving India for England to get his knee fixed ahead of the T20 World Cup.
On the other hand, Bairstow and Curran will be among the English players leaving India this week to play the T20 series against Pakistan.
PBKS Execution in IPL 2024:
PBKS once again struggled for consistency and failed to make the cut for the playoffs. This means they have not advanced in the league stage since qualifying for the final for the first time in 2014. They are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table with just four wins from 12 matches. With two games remaining, PBKS will look to win both to avoid finishing in last place.