The Chennai Super Kings have been dealt another injury blow to begin this season’s IPL. After losing Kedar Jadhav in the season opener, Suresh Raina will also be missing in action from the next two games.
Raina sustained a calf injury on Tuesday while batting against the Kolkata Knight Riders during the successful run chase. The incident occurred when Raina pulled up in the 10th over while running a single. From then on, Raina struggled in the middle and eventually holed out off the bowling of Sunil Narine.
This will be a major blow to the Super Kings as Raina is one of the senior-most players in the squad and is also the vice-captain. In addition, CSK have already come up short on the batting end after losing Kedar Jadhav for the remainder of the tournament following a hamstring injury.
The Super Kings had also lost New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner before the start of the tournament. He was ruled out for the entire tournament and CSK are yet to find a replacement for him.
The Super Kings have been given a boost with the news that Faf du Plessis should be available for the match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Sunday. He was ruled out of the first two games due to a finger injury and side-strain. Murali Vijay was ruled out of the opener in Mumbai due to a rib injury incurred during training. He will also be available for selection.
CSK also confirmed on Twitter last evening that David Willey would be replacing Kedar Jadhav for the rest of the tournament. It is still unknown if he would be available on Sunday for the game against Punjab.
The other three batsman available for selection are all rookies. Dhruv Shorey and Kshitiz Sharma from Delhi along with local Tamil Nadu man N Jagadeesan will surely be gunning for an opportunity to showcase their talents.