The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are one of the teams competing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The Shikhar Dhawan-led team have won both of their matches in the ongoing competition thus far. They began their IPL 2023 campaign with a seven-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by virtue of the DLS method and then registered a five-run victory over last year’s runners-up Rajasthan Royals (RR).
PBKS opened their campaign without the services of two of their key players. One of the players is South African speedster Kagiso Rabada. However, PBKS have now strengthened their squad as the Proteas fast bowler has joined the squad. The 27-year-old will be playing his second consecutive IPL season for the Punjab franchise.
Upon the arrival of Rabada, PBKS shared a short clip on Twitter of him doing the classic move from the Allu Arjun movie ‘Pushpa: The Rise’. The franchise captioned the post as ‘Flower nahi, fire hai KG.’
Watch the video:
Liam Livingstone likely to join PBKS squad next week
English all-rounder Liam Livingstone was the other player who missed PBKS’ first two matches. He is yet to join the PBKS squad as he has not yet reportedly received a fitness clearance from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following an injury he sustained in December 2022.
Punjab Kings will now face the 2016 IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, on Sunday, April 9.
Notably, SRH are yet to win a single match this season. They began their campaign against the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan and were defeated by 72 runs. Following that, they suffered a five-wicket loss to the Lucknow Super Giants. (LSG). Aiden Markram and Co. will compete against PBKS for their first win of the season in order to stay in the race to the playoffs.