Chennai Super Kings are waiting for the fitness updates of their two key players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had sustained injuries during India's recent home assignment against the West Indies. While Ruturaj had a hand injury, Chahar had sustained a hamstring tear, which is expected to keep him away from the action for around six to eight weeks.
The defending champions will play the tournament opener against last year's runners up Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 and if Chahar misses the first phase of the IPL, Chennai will have to identify a player who can don a similar role. Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who was bought by the four-time champions for a sum of ₹1.5 crore in the recent mega auction, could be entrusted with the part.
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Hangargekar had shown his six-hitting prowess in India's triumphant U19 World Cup campaign. He had also hit towering sixes along with honing his bowling skills in Chennai's recent camp in Surat at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan also feels that Hangargekar can turn up for the yellow-clad franchise in place of Chahar, who is currently at the NCA while making a recovery.
Irfan also underlined Chennai's strategy to go with the same core that played a crucial role in their title-winning season last year. The franchise had retained four players: Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the 2022 edition and they bought back Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, and Dwayne Bravo in the mega auction. New Zealand’s bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner was also brought back by the Super Kings.
{{/usCountry}}Irfan also underlined Chennai's strategy to go with the same core that played a crucial role in their title-winning season last year. The franchise had retained four players: Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the 2022 edition and they bought back Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, and Dwayne Bravo in the mega auction. New Zealand’s bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner was also brought back by the Super Kings.
{{/usCountry}}"Chennai will be hoping for Chahar's return and it will be interesting to see how Hangargekar performs. He's got that talent and can get a chance to play in place of Chahar. Apart from talent, experience also matters a lot in the IPL and Chennai have done a good job in retaining their old players. They have got a settled team for this season. They bought back names like Uthappa, Rayudu and Bravo to join their retained set of players comprising Dhoni, Ali, Jadeja and Ruturaj," said Irfan in a discussion on Star Sports.
"It will be important for Chennai to see how much cricket have their players played in recent times. The focus will be in Dhoni and Uthappa-Rayudu as well. Also, Shivam Dube will also look forward to perform after shifting his base from Bangalore," he further said.
MS Dhoni-led Chennai outfit headlines Group B and will take on its fellow group members Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Gujarat Giants two times each. They will also play their Group A counterparts Mumbai Indians twice apart from facing the remaining teams from the group once.