SRH vs PBKS: Sunrisers Hyderabad are hosting Punjab Kings in the 14th match of IPL 2023. Aiden Markram's SRH look to get off the mark as they are yet to win a game after playing the first two matches. Meanwhile, Punjab are undefeated in two games going into the contest. SRH won the toss and opted to bowl first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Notably, PBKS missed the services of Bhanuka Rajapksa in the match.
Why Rajapksa is not playing for PBKS in the game against SRH?
PBKS batter Rajapaksa got injured during the previous game against Rajasthan Royals. He was batting along with captain Shikhar Dhawan and a ball from Dhawan's bat hit Rajapaksa at the non-striker's end. The Sri Lankan batter later revealed that the X-Rays have cleared him of any broken bones or fractures.
Notably, Dhawan said at the toss that Rajapaksa is not playing. "We looked to bat first. There was no dew yesterday and we would like to put a big total. They've lost two games while chasing, so we'll like to put them under pressure again in the chase. It looks like a very good surface and I'm sure it's going to have a real bounce. We are keeping a good environment in the side and the whole team is doing well, that's very important. We have an experienced bowling side. In the batting, we have experienced and youngsters. Matthew Short comes in for Bhanuka," Dhawan said at the toss. While Dhawan did not provide clarity on Rajapaksa, it looks like he has been rested.
PBKS Playing XI:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
SRH's Playing XI:
Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T Natarajan