SRH vs PBKS tip-off XI: Rabada unlikely to play, Short in for Rajapaksa, Marco Jansen may play for Sunrisers

IPL 2023: Like every year Punjab Kings are again looking as one of the teams to watch out for. In this year’s IPL they have had a great start as well, winning two out of two and they might make it three in a row, given the form of their Sunday opponent Sunrisers Hyderabad, they might make it three on the bounce.
Captained the experienced and calm Shikhar Dhawan, PBKS rode on their superior batting, led their Indian players, to put up 190-plus scores and then defended the totals with Arshdeep Singh producing the goods in the two matches. Nathan Ellis was sensational against Rajasthan Royals in the last match and all-rounder Sam Curran, the most expensive buy ever in IPL hory at Rs 18.50 crore has also provided that midas touch, be it with the ball or with the willow.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad has suffered two crushing defeats at the hands of Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants respectively and they would be eager to turn their season.
Here are the tip-off XI for the match
Will Rabada play?
Nathan Ellis exploits in the first two matches will make a comeback difficult for Kagiso Rabada. The South African, who missed the first two games due to national duty is available but it is highly unlikely that Punjab would leave Ellis for him. In Guwahati, where the bowlers were going for runs, struggling to handle the dew, the 28-year-old was the pick of the bowlers. Ellis picked up the wickets of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, home-crowd favourite Riyan Parag and Devdutt Padikkal.
Short in for Rajapaksa
Bhanuka Rajapaksa retired hurt after a freak accident in the last match. However, he didn’t break anything. Dhawan’s shot hit him on the for arm, but the southpaw is unlikely to play. In a video posted Punjab Kings, he said: “Hopefully, I will be back in action very soon.”

On the road to recovery! 🤗#SherSquad, @BhanukaRajapak3 has a message for you all. ♥️#JazbaHaiPunjabi #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/DarKgIpSUt
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 8, 2023
In Rajapaksa’s absence, Matthew Short, who has replaced Jonny Bairstow, might make a cut. This is Short’s first IPL experience. He was the Player of the Tournament at the recent Big Bash League, where opening for Adelaide Strikers, he scored 458 runs – the second-highest in the tournament – at an average of 35.23 and a strike rate of 144.47.
Marco Jansen to play
Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi has been the most consent for them but to be fair, the bowlers didn’t have enough total to defend. SRH might add South Africa’s Marco Jansen in place of Farooqi for this match, it will not only add pace and bounce in their bowling attack but would also inject firepower in the lower order.
Venue stats
The 203 Royals scored at Hyderabad in the first match, showing it is an absolute belter of a track. Since 2017 the first-innings average had been 163.

SRH vs PBKS Predicted XI
SRH XI: Anmolpreet Singh (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Harry Brook, Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik Natarajan
Impact Player – Abhishek Sharma
PBKS XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, M Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Impact Player – Rishi Dhawan