Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been hit with a big blow as they are without the services of skipper Rajat Patidar in their vital Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Punjab Kings (PKBS) on Sunday (May 17) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Assocation (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala. Vice-captain Jitesh Sharma is leading the side in his absence.
Patidar has been ruled out due to injury, and it has been revealed that he did not travel to Dharamshala for the fixtures with the squad. However, stand-in skipper Jitesh claimed at the toss that his absence will not be for long and he should return to action when RCB faces Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last league game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday (May 22) in Hyderabad.
“Rajat is doing fantastic and we should see him in Hyderabad,” said Jitesh.
It has further been reported that Patidar has a concussion after getting hit on the helmet during the match against KKR by a Kartik Tyagi delivery.
RCB has made two changes to their playing XI, as Rajat and Jacob Duffy have been replaced by Suyash Sharma and Romario Shepherd, respectively.
On the other hand, PBKS have also made two changes as Harpreet Brar and Lockie Ferguson took Vishnu Vinod and Marco Jansen’s place.
Huge Match In Playoff Race
The game is a repeat of last year’s final and a vital one in the playoff race with both teams still alive in the race. RCB are top of the table with 16 points in 12 matches. A victory will seal a spot in the playoff for them and make them the first team to mathematically qualify.
On the other hand, PBKS are coming into the game on the back of five defeats in a row. The Shreyas-led side is fourth with 13 points, and another defeat will mean their hopes are no longer in their hands.
RCB Playing XI:Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma
RCB Impact Sub Nominations: Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan
PBKS Playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
PBKS Impact Sub Nominations:Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey
