‘Jitesh wasn’t designated vice-captain, we were clear': Sanjay Bangar reflects on PBKS captaincy controversy

Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of Saturday's match against Rajasthan Royals due to an injury. In Dhawan's absence, English all-rounder Sam Curran took charge of the side, drawing sharp reactions from fans on social media who were expecting 'vice-captain' Jitesh Sharma to take charge in Dhawan's absence. Now, PBKS head coach Sanjay Bangar has come out and explained the reason why Jitesh was not given the PBKS captaincy in Dhawan's absence, stating that the 30-year-old was not the designated vice-captain.

Notably, before the start of the IPL 2024 season, Punjab Kings had officially announced Jitesh Sharma as their vice-captain and the wicketkeeper-batsman also represented PBKS in the captain's shoot. However, the PBKS coach has now said that Jitesh was sent to the captain's shoot as a player and not as the vice-captain of Punjab Kings, while Sam Curran was always their first choice to replace Dhawan.

Speaking about the controversy regarding PBKS captaincy, Bangar said, “Jitesh wasn't the designated vice-captain. The impression could have been because he attended the captain's seminar or meeting at the start of the tournament. But the thought was always that since Sam had led the team last year as well, he was late to arrive from the UK and wanted to have a few sessions, which is why we couldn't send him to Chennai for the inauguration of the season. ”

"Jitesh was sent because the directive from an IPL member was that a player must attend, but it was never in mind that he would be the vice-captain. But we were very clear in our minds that of at all there would be an opening it would be Sam to lead the team" the former Indian cricketer added.

Punjab Kings on Saturday suffered a 3-wicket defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals on Saturday at their home ground, the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. Their next match will be against Mumbai Indians on 18 April.