Devon Conway, Chennai Super Kings (CSK)’s dynamic opener, has been ruled out for at least eight weeks, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed on Monday, March 4 in a post on X. This has opened the doors for Rachin Ravindra’s entry into the CSK playing 11 for the first leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, which will start on March 22 with the clash between the yellow brigade and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Why Would CSK Prefer Ravindra?

Ravindra, another New Zealander like Conway, bats at the top of the order and could bowl left-arm spin as well. He was one of the best buys, coming at just Rs 55 lakh for the Chennai-based side. Ravindra scored more than 500 runs in Indian conditions during the ODI World Cup 2023. He was being seen as an option in case Moeen Ali failed to deliver with bat and ball.

With Conway out, CSK wouldn’t need to change much in their playing 11 as Ravindra will slide into it naturally as an opener and give the team the right balance with a left-right opening combination alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Why Was Conway Ruled Out?

According to the NZC, Conway will undergo surgery on the left thumb this week. He had damaged it during the three-match T20I series against Australia.

“Following several scans and specialist advice, the decision was made to operate on Conway with a likely recovery period of at least eight weeks,” the NZC said.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rachin Ravindra, Moeen Ali/ Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana

First Published: Mar 04 2024 | 6:38 PM IST