Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the first match of the second leg of IPL 2021 on Sunday (September 19) in Dubai.
With less than a week to for the marquee tournament, however, the Chennai-based franchise finds themselves in a dire situation as their senior batsman Faf du Plessis has sustained a groin injury while playing for Saint Lucia Kings in the ongoing CPL.
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The injury ruled him out of Saint Lucia’s last group match against Barbados Royals and also saw his exclusion even from the CPL semi-finals against Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR).
Amid the speculations over his availability in the first game of IPL 2021 phase 2, a report published in TOI claims that Du Plessis has informed the CSK team management that a week’s rest might help him regain his fitness and he has been taking all sorts of precautions in order to not aggravate the injury.
The report further suggests that CSK’s medical team will assess Du Plessis’ injury once the batsman lands in the UAE on Thursday (September 16).
“We are still not in a position to comment on Du Plessis’ availability status till our medical team and physio (Tommy Simsek) examine the extent of the injury. We can take a call once they ascertain the damage,” the source said, as quoted by TOI.
Faf du Plessis’ absence might be a major issue for CSK management as he was their top run-getter in the first phase of IPL 2021 with 320 runs in just seven games. During those matches, he also smashed four half-centuries.
Meanwhile, CSK will miss the services of Sam Curran in the campaign opener as the England all-rounder is yet to arrive in Dubai. Since Curran was part of the COVID-19 hit India-England Test series, he will have to undergo six-day quarantine upon reaching Dubai and this means he is all set to miss the game against MI.
Apart from Du Plessis, CSK’s other members such as Imran Tahir and Dwayne Bravo are also plying their trades in the CPL 2021. The source said that the trio doesn’t need to serve the mandatory quarantine after reaching UAE as they will be coming from the CPL bubble.
(With TOI inputs)
