Former India player Navjot Singh Sidhu hit out at Punjab Kings for abandoning their vice-captain, Jitesh Sharma. He accused the franchise after Sam Curran led them against Rajasthan Royals. Shikhar Dhawan, the franchise’s regular captain, was ruled out due to a shoulder injury, and the captain’s armband was given to the England all-rounder.
It was believed and circulated by reports that Jitesh was the team’s vice-captain as he attended the captains’ meet before the start of IPL 2024.
“A team that abandoned their Senapati can never win. This shows what is wrong with Punjab Kings. Everyone knew Jitesh was their vice-captain, but they decided to hand over the captain’s responsibility to Sam Curran. This is shocking,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Star Sports.
After a massive social-media uproar against Punjab, Sanjay Bangar, the Director of Cricket Development, revealed that Jitesh is not their vice-captain.
“Jitesh was never given the vice-captaincy. He attended the captains’ meeting because Shikhar Dhawan was ill, and vice-captain Sam Curran arrived late from India. Curran wanted a few practice sessions before our first game against Delhi Capitals. It was decided to send Jitesh as captain, and the vice-captain was unavailable.
“Curran led Punjab Kings in IPL 2023, so he was the pretty straightforward choice when Dhawan was injured this season,” Sanjay Bangar said.
PBKS have lost four out of six matches in the 17th season of the tournament.
