Chennai Super Kings stars in action during IPL 2024© AFP
Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings announced on Sunday that star fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana will be returning to Sri Lanka to continue his recovery from a hamstring injury. Pathirana has been missing in action since playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 28. Pathirana has been quite impressive for the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side and his absence comes a big setback for the side which is looking to book IPL 2024 playoff berth. “Matheesha Pathirana is nursing a hamstring injury and will be returning to Sri Lanka for further recovery. Chennai Super Kings wishes Pathirana a quick recovery,” CSK said in a statement on Sunday.
Coming to the IPL 2024, CSK are in the fight for the playoff spots and a win against Punjab Kings on Sunday will be a massive step forward for them in the race.
“We’ve just stuck to our process and doing little things right. We don’t look at the track record of the opposition, we focus on ourselves and see what we can do right. This season there have been a lot of injuries, flus and forced changes so we’ve had to tinker with our team. I’d say losing 10 tosses but winning 5 games is a positive. Santner comes in place of Fizz,” CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said.
On the other hand, Punjab Kings emerged victorious when these two teams faced each other earlier in the competition and they will also look to add another victory to their name and bolster their Top 4 chances.
“We’re going to bowl. Day game, try and see how it plays and chase it down. We’ve got the same team. We’ve had two really good wins with the same team. Conditions should be fairly even throughout, it’s about batting, bowling and fielding well,” PBKS stand-in skipper Sam Curran said at the toss.
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