The 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on March 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with a match between the reigning champion Gujarat Titans and the four-time winners Chennai Super Kings. CSK already had a big scare before the first game because their captain, MS Dhoni, missed exercise because he hurt his left knee.
The 41-year-old former India captain may have hurt his left knee during a training session in Chennai. He didn’t bat during CSK’s nets on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera. (March 30). When asked, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told the PTI news agency, “As far as I’m concerned, the captain is playing.” “I don’t know what else is going on.”
If Dhoni doesn’t play, CSK might ask Devon Conway or Ambati Rayudu to keep wickets since they don’t have a specialist stumper. Dhoni trains a lot before the season starts, but he trains less to save energy once the event begins.
Aside from Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary has been ruled out of the event because of an injury. England’s Ben Stokes, who can play many positions, will only bat in the first few games. CSK picked up Ajinkya Rahane in the IPL 2023 auction, but it’s still unclear if he will play in the IPL 2023 opener.
On the other hand, the Gujarat Titans will miss David Miller, who is away on South African national action. In Miller’s place, former captain of New Zealand and Sunrisers Hyderabad Kane Williamson is set to debut in GT.
In addition to Miller, Joshua Little is absent for this game for the Gujarat Titans. Sisanda Magala, Matheesha Pathirana, and Maheesh Theekshana won’t be able to help the Chennai Super Kings in this first game.
