Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL since its inception back in 2008 and are also the current defending champions of the prestigious title.
Currently, under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK have won five and lost five out of the ten games played this season.
The five-time champions are fourth in the table for now but could lose that final play-off spot to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who have won the same points as CSK, but with a game in hand. To make matters worse, CSK will be facing the Punjab Kings (PBKS) once again on 5th May at the Mullanpur Cricket stadium in Punjab with a possible bowlers crisis to deal with due to their unavailability.
Which CSK bowlers will be missing in action?
CSK’s bowling line-up has undoubtedly been one of the best this season, especially Maheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rehman, who have proved to be game changers for the reigning champions. As things stand though, Mustafizur as left for international duties with the Bangladesh squad ahead of the T20 World Cup in June
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Apart from them, Deepak Chahar picked up an injury during their game against PBKS while bowling just the second ball of the second innings against Punjab. Providing an update to the media, coach Stephen Fleming has stated “he does not look good.” To make matters worse, Tushar Despande will also be unavailable for the game against PBKS due to a flu, but he could still feature, provided he recovers in time.
Meanwhile, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana went back to Sri Lanka for visa processing to fly to the United States and the West Indies for the T20 World Cup. The pair would have hoped to return for the PBKS game on Sunday. However, there is a twist in the tale. CSK officially announced that Pathirana had flown back to Sri Lanka to recover from a hamstring injury.
🦁🚨 OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 🦁🚨 #WhistlePodu #Yellove
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 5, 2024
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What are CSK's bowling options ahead of the game against PBKS?
With such limited bowling options in terms of pace bowling, CSK could have to look towards the likes of Mukesh Choudhary and young Rajvardhan Hangrekar along with Shardul Thakur to lead the pace attack against PBKS. Hangrekar is yet to play in the IPL this season while Mukesh Choudhary has featured in just one game for CSK.
However, another interesting option that was looked at, was Mitchell Santner. The Kiwi was selected in the starting XI for the men in yellow. Santner hasn’t featured in a single IPL game so far this season and has been picked against Punjab Kings. Tushar Deshpande has returned from the sidelines too, and is selected to play against PBKS.
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