"Dhawan's absence [due to a "niggle"] a huge loss," says Curran, but hopes his youngsters can stand up. KL Rahul's happy batting first. His mantra: do whatever you're asked to do well and everything else will take care of itself.
Kings have made a couple of changes.
Young Vidarbha batter Atharva Taide debuts, Harpreet Bhatia, who captains Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket, gets an IPL game after 11 long years. Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa aren't in the XI. It's likely Prabhsimran Singh will come in as the Impact Player.
Punjab Kings XI: Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran (c), Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Super Giants hand a debut cap to Jammu & Kashmir allrounder Yudhvir Singh Charak. Jaydev Unadkat and Avesh Khan aren't in the XI but have been named among the subs. Likely one of them will come in later in the piece.
Lucknow Super Giants XI: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi