Punjab Kings opener and skipper Shikhar Dhawan was sidelined for their match against the Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury.

Captaincy duties fell to teammate Sam Curran, who confirmed Dhawan had a ‘niggle’ at the toss. Atharva Taide filled the vacant spot in the batting order.

Dhawan had opened in all five matches for PBKS this season, scoring a total of 152 runs in 121 balls.

His highest score was a well-played 70 runs off 50 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants, although Punjab ended up losing that match.