LSG vs PBKS: Why is Bhanuka Rajapaksa Not Playing Today's IPL 2023 Match? Check PBKS Playing 11

After two straight defeats, the Punjab Kings are into their 5th match of the season playing against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. In a quest to redeem their campaign, the Kings have undergone a handful of changes to their eleven including Bhanuka Rajapaksa who has been replaced by Sikandar Raza.

LSG vs PBKS: Why is Bhanuka Rajapaksa Not Playing Today’s IPL 2023 Match?

In what comes as a surprise move, the Punjab Kings have decided to replace Sri Lanka’s left hand swashbuckling batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa with Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza. This seems to be tactical move especially after Bhanuka looked out of colors in his last batting effort against Gujarat Titans. Also, the Kings are without their skipper Shikhar Dhawan who picked up a niggle on his right shoulder. All-rounder Sam Curran is the stand-in skipper for this game. Here’s what Sam said at the toss,

“We’ll bowl first. Something we haven’t done all season. Shilkhar picked up an injury last game, don’t know how bad it is but hopefully he won’t be out long. His absence is huge, we’ve got two Indian batters coming in and Raza is back in the XI. The conditions looks good.”

LSG Playing 11

1. Atharva Taide
2. Matthew Short
3. Harpreet Singh Bhatia
4. Sikandar Raza
5. Jitesh Sharma (wk)
6. Shahrukh Khan
7. Sam Curran
8. Rahul Chahar
9. Harpreet Brar
10. Kagiso Rabada
11. Arshdeep Singh

Bhanuka Rajapaksa IPL 2023 Salary

During the IPL 2022 auction, Punjab Kings acquired the services of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, a left-handed Sri Lankan batsman, for a price of Rs 50 lakhs. Rajapaksa is known for his aggressive batting approach and ability to hit powerful shots. Punjab Kings will be relying on him to live up to his reputation as a big-hitter and make a substantial contribution to the team’s achievements. Rajapaksa played nine matches in 2022 and scored 206 runs. He was retained for the same amount in the following year after some decent shows in the 2022 edition.

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