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

In a big news update, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) will miss the services of their overseas batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa as he is not playing the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. It was a superb start for the Punjab Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2023 season as they went on to notch up two amazing consecutive victories against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in their first two games. Punjab Kings will want to build on this gained winning momentum.

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

During the toss, Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan stated that middle-order batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa is not part of the PBKS Playing 11 in today’s SRH vs PBKS IPL 2023 match. Incidentally, Rajapaksa suffered an injury while batting during the last match against Rajasthan Royals after which he also left the field retired hurt and did not returned for the match. Therefore, he was not available for selection in this game. The Sri Lankan explosive batter scored an impressive half-century in the encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders. In his absence, the Punjab Kings have brought in Australian batsman Matthew Short who came in IPL 2023 as a replacement for the injured Jonny Bairstow.

“We wanted to bat first. There was no dew yesterday. We’d like to put a big total. They’ve lost two games while chasing, so we’ll like to put them under pressure again. It looks like a very good wicket and I’m sure it’s going to have true bounce. We are keeping a good environment in the side and the whole team is performing, that’s very important. We have an experienced bowling side. In the batting, we have experience and youngsters. Short comes in for Bhanuka,” said Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan during the toss.

PBKS Playing 11

1. Shikhar Dhawan (C)
2. Prabhsimran Singh
3. Matthew Short
4. Shahrukh Khan
5. Jitesh Sharma (wk)
6. Sam Curran
7. Mohit Rathee
8. Harpreet Brar
9. Nathan Ellis
10. Rahul Chahar
11. Arshdeep Singh

Bhanuka Rajapaksa IPL 2023 Price

In the IPL 2022 mega auction, the Punjab Kings secured the services of Sri Lankan batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa at an amount of INR 50 Lakh. The southpaw batter scored more than 200 runs from 9 games in IPL 2022 at a phenomenal strike-rate of nearly 160. Therefore, Rajapaksa was retained by the Punjab Kings for IPL 2023.

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