England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Rob Key had said that Buttler wanted to bring players home from India to get along before heading to the West Indies and the USA for the T20 extravaganza.
RR holds the second position in the standings, securing 16 points with a net run rate of +0.349, guaranteeing their spot in the playoffs. On the other hand, PBKS sits at the bottom of the table with eight points and a net run rate of -0.423.
Rajasthan Royals lead the points table with four wins and one loss to Gujarat Titans in their previous match, while Punjab Kings are in eighth place with two wins out of five matches.
LSG's regular skipper KL Rahul, who opened the innings with de Kock and is in the side as an 'impact player', could manage just 15 from nine deliveries before being dismissed by pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Chasing 175, Punjab Kings were off to a fine start as openers Jonny Bairstow and skipper Shikhar Dhawan made their attacking intentions clear by smashing Khaleel Ahmed for two boundaries each in the first over.
There was some good news on MS Dhoni's availability, with him being retained by Chennai Super Kings for the entire 2024 season, after undergoing a knee surgery post making the franchise win IPL 2023.
