Bengaluru, April 11: Just a few hours after their home matches were shifted from Chennai to Pune, the Chennai Super Kings suffered another blow as vice-captain Suresh Raina was ruled out for 10 days owing to a calf strain.
Now, Raina stands to miss Super Kings' next two matches against Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.
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Raina suffered the injury in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the M A Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday (April 10) and the left-hander was struggling to run between the wickets. Raina also sought a quick medical attention during the strategic time out but his condition never really got better.
.@ImRaina to miss the next 2 #VIVO @IPL matches due to a calf muscle injury sustained in the previous outing against KKR. Get well soon #ChinnaThala! 💛🦁https://t.co/KiacNyPUX8
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 11, 2018
In fact, Raina was not at his best in the first two matches against Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, getting out cheaply and struggled to find his range.
The injury of Raina is the latest in a series of niggles that haunted Chennai this season.
New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner was the first to get bogged down and was ruled out of cricket for nine months. Chennai had drafted in England pacer David Willey in place of Santner.
Then India Test opener M Vijay was sidelined due to a rib injury and in his absence Chennai were forced to open the innings with Ambati Rayudu alongside Shane Watson.
Kedar Jadhav suffered a hamstring injury while batting against Mumbai Indians in the opening tie of this edition of the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium on April 7.
Jadhav had to return to the dug out midway through his innings to seek medical care. But the right-hander returned to the crease after the dismissal of Dwayne Bravo and played out a couple of dot balls in the final over bowled by Mustafizur Rahman before scooping a six over fine leg to push Chennai closer to the target.
Despite the mounting injury worries and lack of runs and punch by skipper MS Dhoni, the Super Kings have managed to win both their games in the IPL. But the latest development might force them to dig deep into the tank and realign their strategy at least for the next two matches.