After a morale-boosting victory over Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Wednesday, Punjab Kings’ skipper Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow are slated to leave the IPL franchise, before their last game on May 19. While there was a lot of conjecture as to when they would be leaving the team for the T20 World Cup, the duo stayed a bit longer than the other English players, to stay with the Punjab Kings.
Right after the match, Curran confirmed the same, that he would be leaving the team along with Bairstow. “Me and Jonny are leaving tomorrow,” he said.
ECB Recalls Players
The ECB had recalled few of their players from IPL 2024, as some of their are part of their T20 World Cup squad, and will also play the series against Pakistan from May 22. The likes of Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Reece Topley, Liam Livingstone, and Phil Salt have already left the IPL. One player who still remains to leave is all-rounder Moeen Ali, who will most likely play CSK’s last match against RCB on May 18.
IPL 2024
Who Will Lead Punjab Kings?
With the departure of Sam Curran, and with Shikhar Dhawan still injured, there seems to be a slight problem coming up for PBKS. They are slated to play one more league match vs SRH on May 19. So who will be the captain for the match? Could it be Jitesh Sharma, or even Shashank Singh? Notwithstanding the captaincy debate, PBKS is already out of the playoffs race, and their last match would be inconsequential anyways. So it doesn’t really matter, as to who leads the team.
England Players and Franchise Status
Jos Buttler – Rajasthan Royals (Left)
Will Jacks – Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Left)
Reece Topley – Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Left)
Liam Livingstone – Punjab Kings (Left)
Moeen Ali – Chennai Super Kings (May 19)
Jonny Bairstow – Punjab Kings (Left)
Sam Curran – Punjab Kings (Left)
Phil Salt – Kolkata Knight Riders (Left)