MUMBAI: Hours after Chennai Super Kings lost their home advantage for the rest of the 2018 season, they suffered another blow with Suresh Raina being ruled out of the side’s next two matches because of a calf injury. Raina will miss a Super Kings match for the first time in his career when he won’t appear against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Sunday and against Rajasthan Royals in Pune on April 20.
Raina had sustained the injury during Super Kings’ successful chase of 203against Kolkata Knight Riders in their first match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in nearly three years. Raina needed medical attention on Tuesday after completing a single against Sunil Narine in the 10th over of the chase. He struggled to run between the wickets before eventually holing out for 14 off 12 balls.
Raina’s absence further depletes a middle order that is already missing Kedar Jadhav, who had been ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.
However, Faf du Plessis could be available for Sunday’s match as he is recovering from a finger injury and a side strain. M Vijay, who had missed the tournament opener against Mumbai because he was hit in the ribs while training before the match, was available for selection for the match against Knight Riders, according to batting coach Michael Hussey, but was not picked. Raina’s injury could push Vijay to the top and Ambati Rayudu into the middle order.
Delhi’s Dhruv Shorey and Kshitiz Sharma and Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan are the uncapped Indian batsmen in the squad. Jadhav’s replacement David Willey” hasn’t joined the squad as his visa process is not complete yet,” a CSK official told ESPNCricinfo. “He will not be available for the Mohali match but could be expected to be available for the Rajasthan match.”
Super Kings had also lost New Zealand allrounder Mitchell Santner to injury before the tournament began and have not named a replacement for him yet.
