What happened to PBKS batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa and why did he leave the field?

Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been one of the top performers for his franchise in the top order. Unfortunately, he could not bat for more than one ball in the 8th match of IPL 2023 between PBKS and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.

After being asked to bat first, PBKS were off to a great start in the match. Prabhsimran Singh (60 off 34 balls) attacked from the outset and helped his side race off to 63/0 in the powerplay. Jason Holder then dismissed him in the ninth over to break the 90-run opening stand as RR finally got a breakthrough.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who hit a breezy fifty in the previous game, walked into bat at this juncture and took a single off his first delivery. On the first delivery of the 11th over, Shikhar Dhawan hit a powerful straight shot against Ashwin's delivery. Unfortunately, the ball quickly went towards Rajapaksa, who did not have enough time to evade as the ball hit his right-hand forearm.

The play paused as the physio came out to attend to him. After a while, Rajapaksa decided to leave the field as retired hurt due to the severity of the injury. Shikhar Dhawan shifted gears after that and scored briskly to help his side reach a competitive total of 197/4 on a decent batting surface. Bhanuka Rajapaksa did not return to the field after the incident.

Speaking during the mid-innings break, Prabhsimran Singh reflected on PBKS' chances in the contest, saying:

"The total is very good. If we bowl good in the power play, we will win easily. There is a bit of dew but if we bowl well in the power play, it is a defendable total."

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PBKS squad for IPL 2023:

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sikandar Raza, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh.