Punjab Kings name Jitesh Sharma as new IPL 2024 captain after Sam Curran's departure
Jitesh Sharma will make his IPL captaincy debut tomorrow afternoon. He will lead the Punjab Kings in their final league game of IPL 2024 against the SunRisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
The Punjab Kings have already been eliminated from the race to the playoffs. They will play for pride in the day/night fixture against the SunRisers Hyderabad.
Sam Curran, who captained Punjab in IPL 2024 after Shikhar Dhawan's injury, has returned to the UK for England's upcoming T20I series against Pakistan. Dhawan is yet to recover to full fitness, which is why the Kings had to name a new skipper.
PBKS announced Jitesh Sharma as their new skipper for the match against SRH via the following media release:
"Punjab Kings on Saturday announced Jitesh Sharma as the Captain for their final game of the ongoing Indian Premier League season, He will lead the Kings in their game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, set to take place at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday, May 19th. Jitesh will take charge from Sam Curran, who has returned to England for international duty."
It is pertinent to note that Jitesh represented Punjab in the captains' shoot which happened before the start of the season. However, PBKS denied that he was the official captain or vice-captain.
Can Jitesh Sharma spoil SRH's party on his IPL captaincy debut?
While the Punjab Kings won't gain much from a win against the SunRisers Hyderabad, they can spoil the Orange Army's chances of a top 2 finish if they beat them. SRH have 15 points right now. They need a win against PBKS to ensure they have a chance of a qualifying for Qualifier 1.
A defeat against PBKS will put SRH in the Eliminator, meaning they will have to win three consecutive matches to lift the trophy. It will be interesting to see which team emerges victorious tomorrow afternoon.