Chennai, Apr 14 (IANS): SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday left out pace bowler Sandeep Sharma from their playing eleven in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) despite the fast bowler having a good record against RCB skipper, having dismissed him seven times in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sandeep's previous expensive outing in IPL 2021 against Kolkata Knight Riders -- against whom he conceded 35 runs in three overs without taking a wicket, may have prompted SRH to replace him with left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who took 1/36 in his four overs on Wednesday night.

The right-arm pace bowler's absence, however, allowed RCB skipper some respite as he made 33 off 29 balls to help his side get a solid platform.

Kohli could begin well, making 19 off 14 balls in the power-play phase, which has been a vulnerable phase for him against Sandeep.

The right-arm Punjab pace bowler's seven dismissals of Kohli rank alongside Zaheer Khan's seven dismissals of MS Dhoni, as the joint highest by a bowler against a batsman in IPL history.

Last season, Sandeep became the sixth Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in in IPL history.