IPL 2024: Here’s why CSK pacers Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande are not playing today’s match against PBKS

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) they continue Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 49 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The stage is at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, where fans have gathered in anticipation of a thrilling contest.

PBKS captain, Sam Curran, won the toss and chose to field first, choosing to take advantage of the conditions at the start of the game. The decision marked the ninth defeat in ten matches for the CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 17th running season of the cash-rich league, highlighting the trend of bad luck at the toss department of the CSK team.

While Punjab made no changes to their final XI, the CSK management opted for a few changes in their playing line-up. Absence of fast bowling, Matheesha Pathirana again Tushar Deshpande, from the CSK team it was remarkable.

The reason for the absence of Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande

Notably, during the match, Ruturaj revealed that although they would like to play first, they were not completely sure because of the uncertain conditions. He acknowledged the challenge of defending the goal but highlighted the good performance of the team in the past despite that.

The CSK captain also noted the absence of Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande due to injury and illness respectively, stressing the importance of putting good scores first.

“We were going to play first, but we weren’t sure. It’s always difficult to defend here with so much dew, but the fact that we won by 78 runs shows a lot about the team, but we will be missing Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande today. We will have to come early and make good points. Every game is important. Pathirana has a little imagination, Deshpande is not well, so we have Shardul and Richard Gleeson playing for the first time,” Ruturaj said throwing.

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CSK vs PBKS: Playing XIs of both teams

Chennai Super Kings: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Richard Gleeson, Mustafizur Rahman

Kings of Punjab: Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran (c), Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

A change that affects both parties

CSK: Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Prashant Solanki
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia

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