South Africa captain Faf du Plessis is not yet fit to play against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Tuesday.
Du Plessis has a slight side strain and a small fracture in a finger and is expected to be ready for the game against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on April 15, Chennai Super Kings batting coach Michael Hussey confirmed.
“I believe Faf is not in full training at the moment. He is recovering from a slight side strain. And he also has a small fracture in his one of his fingers. He is going to be ramping up his training in the next seven days. He is hopeful to be available for selection in the next game against Mohali, the CSK batting coach said.
Hussey was addressing a pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Monday.
When Hussey was asked why Ambati Rayudu was chosen to open in the MI game ahead of Murali Vijay, a regular opener, the former Australian cricketer said Vijay had suffered a knock during the early part of the training, was recovering and would be available for selection.
“From what I understand, M Vijay got a bit of a knock in his ribs. He has been quite sore actually and is slowly working his way back to full fitness. There are always 50-50 calls that can go either way. And sometimes the gut feel of the captain and coach.”
“Rayudu is playing really well. He has obviously played for India and done very well as well. But M Vijay is batting nicely as well. So, it is a nice headache I guess for the coach and captain to have.”
“Vijay… Yeah he is fine, he is ready to go. He is certainly available to be picked,” Hussey said.
Also, when asked what he thinks of the Chepauk wicket, Hussey said, “It looks good. Yeah, it is a little on the dry side. I expect spinners from both sides to play a bit of a part. In general looks like a nice pitch and should be a good spectacle for everyone.”
Hussey also counts Kedar Jadhav being out of CSK for the rest of the IPL as a big loss.
Jadhav sustained a hamstring pull, a grade two tear, in the tournament opener against MI, which Chennai Super Kings won by one wicket.
“Losing Kedar is a big loss. He is a class player. He was coming back from an injury and unfortunately got injured again. It is a big hole to fill. Numbers.1, 2, 3, 4 need to take the responsibility and score the bulk of the runs.We lost key wickets at the end of the power play. But we have the players to do be able to do it. We have to play smart cricket, Hussey added.
