IPL 2021: Will Suresh Raina play in Chennai Super Kings’ quest for a top-two finish? | Cricket News – Times of India
CHENNAI: There’s a bit of a cloud in the Chennai Super Kings sky. After a tremendous initial run that booked them a spot in the playoffs, two back-to-back losses have left them in a spot in the race to clinch the coveted top-two spot.
With RCB suddenly closing in, it is imperative that MS Dhoni’s boys win their last game against Punjab Kings on Thursday so that they are assured of a second shot at the final if the first one goes wrong.
In this final sprint, it will be interesting to see if CSK stalwart Suresh Raina makes a comeback. Captain MS Dhoni said against Delhi Capitals that Raina was rested because of a knee injury, but it is an old policy of the franchise that an injured player never travels with the team to the ground. But Raina did travel on Monday and the injury that Dhoni spoke about has been there right from the beginning of the season.
The fact that the left-hander has been unable to recreate his old magic might have been the reason behind his non-inclusion in the last game. In fact, it was touch and go between Raina and Uthappa for the last three games and Dhoni was waiting for his old mate to get back to some sort of form. But that didn’t happen and there is afeeling that the captain might have tried not to stoke the fire by mentioning publicly that a player of the stature of Raina has been dropped.
Now comes the bigger question: will he play against Punjab Kings? Robin Uthappa, who came in place of Raina, didn’t exactly set the stage on fire. But now that Dhoni has given him a chance after 12 matches, one could expect that he will get one more chance before the playoffs.
While the Raina question mark remains, Sam Curran has been officially ruled out of the tournament with an injury. That would mean the rest of the attack will remain the same as they try to curb the dangerous Punjab opening partnership of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Punjab are unlikely to make any further progress but that could just make them a little more dangerous in a game like this.
With RCB suddenly closing in, it is imperative that MS Dhoni’s boys win their last game against Punjab Kings on Thursday so that they are assured of a second shot at the final if the first one goes wrong.
In this final sprint, it will be interesting to see if CSK stalwart Suresh Raina makes a comeback. Captain MS Dhoni said against Delhi Capitals that Raina was rested because of a knee injury, but it is an old policy of the franchise that an injured player never travels with the team to the ground. But Raina did travel on Monday and the injury that Dhoni spoke about has been there right from the beginning of the season.
The fact that the left-hander has been unable to recreate his old magic might have been the reason behind his non-inclusion in the last game. In fact, it was touch and go between Raina and Uthappa for the last three games and Dhoni was waiting for his old mate to get back to some sort of form. But that didn’t happen and there is afeeling that the captain might have tried not to stoke the fire by mentioning publicly that a player of the stature of Raina has been dropped.
Now comes the bigger question: will he play against Punjab Kings? Robin Uthappa, who came in place of Raina, didn’t exactly set the stage on fire. But now that Dhoni has given him a chance after 12 matches, one could expect that he will get one more chance before the playoffs.
While the Raina question mark remains, Sam Curran has been officially ruled out of the tournament with an injury. That would mean the rest of the attack will remain the same as they try to curb the dangerous Punjab opening partnership of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Punjab are unlikely to make any further progress but that could just make them a little more dangerous in a game like this.
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