IPL 2024: Big BLOW for CSK as star bowler returns home due to injury

In what comes as a big blow to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), their strike pace bowler, Matheesha Pathirana, will return to Sri Lanka as he recovers from a hamstring injury.CSK will be without the services of Pathirana, nicknamed 'Baby Malinga' by the fanbase, as the tournament heads into its business end.

The five-time champions have endured an inconsistent season but Pathirana has been one of the few bright spots - often bailing out the team from dire situations.The right-arm pacer played six matches in IPL 2024 picking up 13 wickets at an economy rateof 7.68.

"Chennai Super Kings pacer Matheesha Pathirana is nursing a hamstring injury and will be returning to Sri Lanka for further recovery," the franchise informed.

Though CSK are placed 4th in the IPL 2024 points table, with fivewins in 10 games, the final run of fourgames could be tricky for them without the support of some of the star players.

The franchise didn't inform if Pathirana will be returning for the playoffs, which start on May 21 with the first qualifier between the top two teams, scheduled at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

A depleted CSK squad

In the lead-up to the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday (May 5), head coach Stephen Fleming had provided a grim outlook of the squad. CSK are already without the services of an injured Deepak Chahar while Mustafizur Rahman has returned to Bangladesh due to national team commitments.

"Deepak Chahar doesn't look good. Initial feeling wasn't great. So we are waiting for more positive report. Physio and doctors will have a look. Sri Lankan boys are off to get visa. So we are hoping that their process is smooth. And we get them back for our next game up north (at Dharamshala)," said Fleming earlier this week.

"Tushar Deshpande got flu, so we had to make a few changes today, which is a bit unusual. But again that's part of it and we have got resources. It's just they haven't got time to be comfortable about their roles and us to be comfortable with the game plan that we are struggling with," Fleming added.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Richard Gleeson, Tushar Deshpande

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

(With inputs from agencies)