IPL 2022: Why are Dwayne Bravo and Shivam Dube not playing today's CSK vs SRH match?
MS Dhoni's first match since returning to Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) captaincy in IPL 2022, against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), will see the team's hitherto best bowler Dwayne Bravo and best batter Shivam Dube miss out from the playing 11.
Bravo is their top wicket-taker with 14 scalps after eight games, whereas Dube is their top-scorer with 247 runs at an average of 35.29.
Announcing CSK's changes at the toss, Dhoni said Bravo is "not fit" for the game but only mentioned that Dube "also moves out" of the IPL team. He said:
"We have a couple of changes. As you mentioned [about] our injury list, Bravo is not fit for this game and Shivam also moves out. Devon [Conway] and Simarjeet [Singh] come in their place."
Conway, a New Zealand international who has been one of the best T20I batters in the last couple of years, will partner with Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order.
He had started at that position for the four-time champions at the start of the season but was dropped after just one game where he scored 3.
Conway boasts an average and strike rate of 50.17 and 139.35 respectively in T20I cricket and would want to replicate that success here.
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Meanwhile, Simarjeet Singh has been around the Indian team for some time now. He was part of the tour of Sri Lanka last year as a reserve.
A right-arm medium-fast bowler from Delhi, he has 24 wickets in domestic T20s at an average of 20.33. He can swing the ball, but the SRH batters will test his ability to deliver at the death under pressure.
View the IPL 2022 timetable here.
Shivam Dube a big miss for CSK
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Whether or not Shivam Dube has been dropped couldn't be ascertained immediately. But if he isn't injured, then CSK could have simply swapped Simarjeet for Bravo and played with three overseas players, something they have done multiple times before.
Dube's absence could hurt them badly as the 28-year-old was amid his best IPL season, striking at nearly 160 and playing the role of a floater to perfection.