Sam Curran has done a great job in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence: Anil Kumble (Sportspix)
Anil Kumble gives his verdict on the captaincy of Sam Curran and the possibility of him taking over the captaincy of Punjab Kings after Shikhar Dhawan
In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Sam Curran has been leading the Punjab Kings for the last two matches. Former PBKS coach Anil Kumble believes that the stand-in captain has worked well enough as a stop-gap solution for Dhawan. The experienced opener is Punjab’s leading run-scorer in IPL 2023 so far, with 233 runs in four innings.
Dhawan also missed out on a century by scoring 99 earlier this season, but a shoulder injury has ruled him out of the last three games for Punjab. Curran has been leading the franchise in the last three matches and has helped them to two wins against Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians, while they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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Curran had scored a half-century in their last match against Mumbai to help PBKS cross the 200-run mark, and under Dhawan’s captaincy at the start of the season, his batting has been on fire with Shikhar alone firing on all cylinders. Left a lot to be desired as well.
As Shikhar Dhawan nears the end of his career, Punjab would be looking for his long-term replacement and that is probably why they went full throttle behind Curran and bought the Englishman for Rs 18.5 crore , making him the most expensive player. In the history of IPL auction.
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However, Kumble feels it is still early days to think of replacing Dhawan, who still has a lot to give, and the former PBKS coach said he would be keen to have Dhawan fully fit. Because he is not only a leader but an important person. But also as a pure batsman.
“Sam Curran has definitely done a great job as a stop-gap for Shikhar’s absence, he has done a wonderful job, Punjab definitely have the potential to be in the top four, it’s going to go their way.” Depends on a few things but when it comes to captaincy, it’s too early to think who can take Punjab forward.”
IPL 2023: purple cap See the full list of bowlers with the most wickets here
“I am sure at this point of time everyone must be wondering from their point of view when Shikhar can come back because Shikhar the captain is important for them but more importantly Shikhar the batsman is more important for Punjab,” he added.
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