CHENNAI: There was much drama in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp on the eve of their must-win game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Ruturaj Gaikwad , who was hit by a Tushar Deshpande delivery in the game against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati last week, appears to have a broken elbow.
“Ruturaj has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a broken elbow. And now a certain uncapped player called MS Dhoni will lead us,” coach Stephen Fleming said.
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Gaikwad hasn’t been at his best and it will be interesting to see if CSK go back to senior player Rahul Tripathi at the top of the order or throw in one of the rookies — Shaikh Rashid or Andre Siddarth — into the deep end.
Asked whether it was difficult to make Dhoni take up the captaincy again, Fleming said, “No, he understood the situation. Ruturaj didn’t want to go but it’s an unfortunate situation.”
The injury complicates an already complicated situation for CSK, who have only one win out of five. Another loss here on Friday may just make the uphill road to playoffs qualification all the more difficult. But then, their opponents KKR aren’t exactly better off either.
The defending champions have won only two of their five matches and it’s extremely important that they take full points here. There’s one thing, though, that may just help the Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium — the pitch. They have complained a lot about their home pitch at the Eden, but here, their spinners might get the purchase they are looking for.
Are CSK making the best use of Jadeja?
For a long time, one of the centrepieces of Chennai Super Kings’ success has been Ravindra Jadeja. It was his consistency over the years that made CSK shell out Rs 18 cr to retain him. However, in the five games that CSK have played so far, it seems that their former captain has been underutilised to a degree.
In none of the games did the experienced left-arm spinner get his full quota of four overs. In 13 of the 20 available overs that he bowled, Jadeja gave away 105 runs, going at an economy rate of 8.
“We have six options. It’s not a set stage for anybody, we try to go according to the situation,” coach Fleming said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, as a batter too, Jadeja has been limited to the role of a finisher at a time when the top order has struggled.
“We really like his partnership with MS at the back end. That appeals to us,” Fleming said.
“Ruturaj has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a broken elbow. And now a certain uncapped player called MS Dhoni will lead us,” coach Stephen Fleming said.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Gaikwad hasn’t been at his best and it will be interesting to see if CSK go back to senior player Rahul Tripathi at the top of the order or throw in one of the rookies — Shaikh Rashid or Andre Siddarth — into the deep end.
Asked whether it was difficult to make Dhoni take up the captaincy again, Fleming said, “No, he understood the situation. Ruturaj didn’t want to go but it’s an unfortunate situation.”
The injury complicates an already complicated situation for CSK, who have only one win out of five. Another loss here on Friday may just make the uphill road to playoffs qualification all the more difficult. But then, their opponents KKR aren’t exactly better off either.
The defending champions have won only two of their five matches and it’s extremely important that they take full points here. There’s one thing, though, that may just help the Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium — the pitch. They have complained a lot about their home pitch at the Eden, but here, their spinners might get the purchase they are looking for.
Are CSK making the best use of Jadeja?
For a long time, one of the centrepieces of Chennai Super Kings’ success has been Ravindra Jadeja. It was his consistency over the years that made CSK shell out Rs 18 cr to retain him. However, in the five games that CSK have played so far, it seems that their former captain has been underutilised to a degree.
In none of the games did the experienced left-arm spinner get his full quota of four overs. In 13 of the 20 available overs that he bowled, Jadeja gave away 105 runs, going at an economy rate of 8.
“We have six options. It’s not a set stage for anybody, we try to go according to the situation,” coach Fleming said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, as a batter too, Jadeja has been limited to the role of a finisher at a time when the top order has struggled.
“We really like his partnership with MS at the back end. That appeals to us,” Fleming said.
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