Defending champions Chennai Super Kings have announced the replacement of injured Lungi Ngidi. New Zealand pacer Scott Kuggeleijn replaced injured Lungi Ngidi in the team. Stephen Fleming, the head coach of the team confirmed the news on Saturday (March 30). The 27-year-old pacer is expected to join the squad next week.
“For Lungi, we’ve been a little bit more selective. It’s obviously a different level of replacement player (required for him) based on price. We’ve gone with Scott Kuggeleijn, who’s a New Zealand international, who bowls quick and bats well. So we’ve gone for an all-rounder who has good pace and good variations. He’ll be joining us next week,” Fleming said to the reporters prior to their second home game.
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Kuggeleijn made his debut in the shortest format of the game against Sri Lanka in Auckland in January. He recently was part of the team in the three-match T20I series against India at home. He has played 2 ODIs and 4 T20Is so far.
Moreover, Fleming also said that CSK are not seeking a replacement for David Willey, who is currently at home due to family reasons.
“We can’t replace David Willey. David’s got a personal issue at home that he’s dealing with and we’re supporting him and we’ll continue to support him. So contrary to some of the statements that have come out, we can’t replace David Willey no matter what happens. It’s just about us supporting him and his family as they go through some issues at home, and we support his decision to be at home. So we can’t replace him.”
CSK bought Willey last year as a replacement of injured Kedar Jadhav and they have retained him prior to this year’s IPL. However, CSK has now only seven foreign players left in their squad in this season. CSK have started their campaign with a victory and currently placed second in the points table. Kolkata Knight Riders is at the top of the table. CSK will play their next game against Rajasthan Royals in Chennai on March 31.
