3 IPL 2024 teams with injury concerns a month ahead of the season ft. CSK
The 17th edition of the IPL gets underway on 22nd March 2024. With the start of IPL 2024 less than a month away, all teams will be hopeful of a fully fit squad to compete.
With the amount of cricket being played in this day and age, there has been a spate of injuries and many players are rushing against time to be fully fit for IPL 2024.
On that note, here is a look at three teams with injury concerns ahead of IPL 2024
#1 Chennai Super Kings ("CSK")-
The defending champions are dealing with injury woes ahead of IPL 2024.
The Kiwi trio comprising Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, and Daryl Mitchell are under an injury cloud. Devon Conway injured his thumb during the second T20I against Australia and did not even bat in the said game. He also missed the third T20I against Australia.
Rachin Ravindra missed the second and third T20Is against Australia on 23rd and 25th February 2024 respectively due to a knee injury.
Daryl Mitchell was forced to miss the second Test against South Africa and the entire T20I series against Australia due to a foot injury. It remains to be seen if he gets fit for the Test series against Australia commencing on 29th February 2024 and thereafter for IPL 2024.
Shivam Dube, who had a stellar IPL 2023 and was the in-form batsman for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy this year suffered a side strain and has been ruled out of the remaining season of Ranji Trophy 2024.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman suffered a head injury during a practice session in Chattogram last week which required five stitches.
It remains to be seen if the above-mentioned players get fit for IPL 2024 with less than a month for the tournament to commence.
#2 Mumbai Indians ("MI")-
The core of the MI team seems to be having injury woes ahead of IPL 2024. To begin with, the newly appointed skipper has been missing in action since the match against Bangladesh in the 2023 World Cup.
Pandya suffered an ankle injury which forced him to miss the remaining edition of the World Cup and the subsequent matches thereafter. Though Pandya has been working rigorously on his fitness, it is to be seen if he is completely match-fit come the IPL.
Surya Kumar Yadav (SKY) has been missing in action since mid-December 2023 and underwent surgery for a sports hernia in Germany on January 17, 2024. He is undergoing rehabilitation and his participation in the upcoming IPL season is doubtful.
Ishan Kishan too has been missing in action for the past few months. Though he is not injured, he has taken a break from the game and has started training only recently.
#3 Gujarat Titans ("GT")-
The purple cap holder of IPL 2023 has been ruled out of IPL 2024. Shami, who has been out of competitive cricket since his heroics in the 2023 World Cup, will miss the upcoming IPL season due to an ankle injury. Shami's absence will be a big blow to the GT franchise and they will have a difficult time finding the pacer's replacement.
Rashid Khan has been battling a back injury for the past few months. He missed out on playing in the PSL and also missed Afghanistan's recent tour of Sri Lanka. Khan is yet to recover post the back surgery and is battling against time to be match fit for IPL 2024.
If Khan misses out on playing IPL 2024, it will be a double blow for GT because they will miss the services of their pace spearhead Shami in IPL 2024.