Chennai Super Kings is currently sitting pretty on the top of the IPL Points table with two out of two wins played so far. They pulled off stunning victories in both the games to come out on the top at the very end. But when it rains, it pours. As if the venue fiasco was not enough to put off the returning side, further injuries have plagued the yellow jersey team with the latest addition of Suresh Raina is the growing list.
In the second match against the Kolkata Knight Riders team, Suresh Raina showed discomfort while running between the wickets. In the 10th over of the 203-run chase against KKR, Suresh Raina struggled to complete a single in the Narine’ over. Soon, he holed out for 14 off 12 after being unable to complete the runs.
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The later diagnosis revealed that CSK’s most dependable batsman has suffered a calf injury. The injury has ruled out Suresh Raina for around 7-8 days which means he will miss out on the next two matches of Chennai Super Kings. CSK is scheduled to play Kings XI Punjab at Mohali on Sunday (15th April) and Rajasthan Royals at Pune on Friday (20th April).
The absence of Raina will be a major concern for Chennai who has already lost many players to injuries. They lost New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner before the IPL began. Kedar Jadhav was ruled out of the season with an injury in the first match. Murali Vijay was injured in training, Du Plessis is nursing a finger injury and now even Suresh Raina will miss out. The possible replacements for Suresh Raina are as follows
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Murali Vijay
The veteran Chennai batsman has played plenty of match-winning knocks at the top for Chennai Super Kings. Although he does not have a suitable game to play at number three, his expertise at the top will be really helpful. WIth him at the top, Rayudu can bat at number three.
FAF Du Plessis
The South African captain has a proven experience of the IPL and has scored over a 1000 runs in the competition for CSK. He did not play in the first two games since he was tending to a finger injury sustained in the recent Test series. He is, however, likely to be fit before the next game. If he is included, CSK will have to remove some other overseas player who is most likely to be Imran Tahir.
Dhruv Shorey
Another exciting talent that CSK have at their disposal is the young Delhi lad Dhruv Shorey. The 25-year old played few smacking innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2018. He scored 74(56) against Baroda and 84(46) against Bengal batting at number three. CSK can use him as a surprise package while Raina recovers.
