Shikhar Dhawan
sat out of Punjab Kings' match against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL on Saturday because of a shoulder injury, and the team's skipper is likely to remain out of action for "at least 7-10 days", as confirmed by coach
Sanjay Bangar
A week's absence will see Dhawan missing Punjab's next two games at Mullanpur against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans.
Punjab (147 for 8) lost to Rajasthan (152 for 7) in a close game that was decided off the penultimate ball of the match.
Punjab's fourth defeat in six matches pushed them down to No. 8 on the points table, while the Royals regained the top position on the leaderboard with their fifth win in six matches.
England allrounder Sam Curran led the Punjab team in Dhawan's absence.
Giving an update about Dhawan's injury, Bangar first said he could be out for "at least a couple of days" and later said "at least seven-ten days".
"He's having a shoulder injury, so he is likely to be out for at least a couple of days, I would say," said the Punjab coach. "Having an experienced opener, somebody like Shikhar, who has experience of playing on such wickets, becomes extremely crucial. 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 seven-ten days."
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Despite not being at his prolific best, Dhawan remains the top run-getter for Punjab this season so far with 152 runs in five innings. But it also reflects the top-order batting woes that the team has been facing.
In six innings, opener Jonny Bairstow has scored 96 runs, Prabhsimran Singh 119 runs and Jitesh Sharma 106 runs.
"Certainly it's a cause for concern that the top order is not making enough runs for us. They are trying hard - I am not saying that they are not applying themselves - but it's just not coming (off). Low-scoring games, especially at Mullanpur, the way the wicket is...that also has a factor."
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