SRH vs PBKS: Punjab Kings announce new captain ahead of their last IPL 2024 game

Punjab Kings have announced the name of the player who will be leading them in their last game of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024).

The Punjab-based outfit will be led by a different captain for the third time this season. At the start of the season, veteran batsman Shikhar Dhawan was leading PBKS. The former India opener led the team in five games before being sidelined with a shoulder injury. He was recently ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

Under Dhawan's captaincy, PBKS won two of the five games. After his injury, English allrounder Sam Curran was leading the team. The fast-bowling allrounder led the team in eight games. Of those eight games, PBKS won three including impressive away wins against Kolkata Knight Riders and reigning champions Chennai Super Kings. PBKS had chased down a record total of 262 against KKR.

Curran won't be available for the last game of the competition as he has returned home to participate in the upcoming T20I series between England and Pakistan. Apart from Curran, PBKS have lost the services of England star Jonny Bairstow as well. All the English players have returned home due to national duty.

With both Dhawan and Curran not available, PBKS have announced that wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma will be leading them in their final league game of the season.

"I am very happy for this opportunity that PBKS has given me to lead in the last game. Hopefully, we will finish on a good note and I will try to start on a winning note," said Jitesh Sharma after being named the captain.

Skipper Ji-𝙩𝙚𝙯𝙯 reporting! 🚨#SherSquad, presenting to you our captain for the final game against SRH. 🙌#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #JazbaHaiPunjabi #TATAIPL2024 pic.twitter.com/chZYWNthiF

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 18, 2024

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲" 🙌🏻

🗣️ Skipper Jitesh Sharma shares his thoughts on leading the team ahead of the season's final game. #SRHvPBKS #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #JazbaHaiPunjabi #TATAIPL2024 | @jiteshsharma_ pic.twitter.com/aRLa0i9nrp

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 18, 2024

Jitesh Sharma has struggled to impress with the bat so far and will be looking to bow out of the competition on a high. In 13 games so far, he has scored 155 runs at an average of 14 and a strike-rate of 122. PBKS will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game of the season.

PBKS in IPL 2024:

PBKS have had another poor campaign in IPL as they failed to qualify for the playoffs. They last qualified for the playoffs way back in 2014 when they made it to the final. While they started their campaign with a win over Delhi Capitals, it did not take long for their campaign to get off the track. They struggled throughout the competition and are currently languishing at the ninth spot in the points table with just five wins from 13 games.