Defending champion Chennai Super Kings are battling injury to two of their key players – opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and all-rounder Deepak Chahar. While it is still unclear when CSK will be able to get the services of Chahar in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, there was finally good news for MS Dhoni’s CSK as young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad joined the ongoing pre-season camp in Surat on Wednesday (March 16).
CSK will open their IPL 2022 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 in Mumbai. Gaikwad had missed the T20 series against Sri Lanka after injuring his wrist in the series against West Indies.
The official Twitter handle of CSK posted the news of Gaikwad’s arrival in Surat. Check CSK’s post on Ruturaj Gaikwad here...
Reeling with joy when he comes IN! #WhistlePodu @Ruutu1331 pic.twitter.com/pCGSBkQvzR
— Chennai Super Kings - Mask Pdu Whistle Pdu! (@ChennaiIPL) March 16, 2022
The 25-year-old opener had to undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and it looks like he has recovered just in time to join CSK’s ongoing pre-tournament camp in Surat. Gaikwad has not only been the star batter for CSK in the last season but he has been the best batsman in the tournament as he smashed 635 runs and finished as the Orange Cap holder of the team.
Meanwhile, pacer Chahar is expected to miss the first half of IPL 2022 due to a right quadriceps injury. The CSK all-rounder had sustained the injury during the third and final T20I between Rohit Sharma-led Team India and West Indies at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
As per the recent developments, CSK star Chahar is likely to be out for eight weeks. At a time when CSK are waiting for a final report about Chahar’s fitness from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has picked the likely replacements of the injured pacer.
Jaffer believes CSK skipper Dhoni can rope in the likes of Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh or Mukesh Choudhary for the Powerplay overs. “We could see MS Dhoni giving confidence to the younger guys, the uncapped guys whether it's Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh who bowls for Delhi in the powerplay (or) Mukesh Choudhary – he’s a left-armer who bowls at decent speeds... The Mumbai wickets will need a little bit of pace so these guys can bowl,” Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.
CSK Full Squad: Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Samarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Adam Milne, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, K Bhagath Varma.
