Suresh Raina, the mainstay of Chennai Super Kings’ batting line-up, has been ruled of the side’s next two IPL 2018 games versus Kings XI Punjab on April 15 and against Rajasthan Royals on April 20 due to a calf injury.
Raina had sustained the injury during CSK’ successful chase of 203 against 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 injury is a big blow to the CSK outfit who already lost Kedar Jadhav for the entire season due to a hamstring.
Apart from Jadhav and Raina, Murali Vijay, too, is recovering from a rib injury.
Who will replace Suresh Raina?
According to the reports in Sportstar, Suresh Raina will require around 10 days to recover from his injury and won’t be able to play the matches against Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. Therefore, now CSK captain MS Dhoni has a tough task on his hands to find a perfect replacement for Raina.
Given that Murali Vijay is an opener, Dhruv Shorey looks the most likely player to replace Raina for the next couple of matches. He was the most impressive player for Delhi in the domestic season this year and needs to perform well in the limited opportunities he will get.
