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The opening match of the IPL 2024 season will spotlight MS Dhoni new role and Virat Kohli return!

IPL 2024 First Match: RCB hasn’t beaten CSK in Chennai since IPL 2008. Will that streak continue or end on Friday?

IPL 2024 first match

MatchDateTimeTeamsVenueUmpires
122 March 2420:00Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers BengaluruM. A. Chidambaram Stadium, ChennaiSaiyed Khalid (Ind) and Virender Sharma (Ind)
223 March 2415:30Punjab Kings vs Delhi CapitalsMaharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, MullanpurJayaraman Madanagopal (Ind) and Nikhil Patwardhan (Ind)
323 March 2419:30Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers HyderabadEden Gardens, KolkataYeshwant Barde (Ind) and Rohan Pandit (Ind)
424 March 2415:30Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super GiantsSawai Mansingh Stadium, JaipurKumar Dharmasena (SL) and Akshay Totre (Ind)
524 March 2419:30Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai IndiansNarendra Modi Stadium, AhmedabadVineet Kulkarni (Ind) and Virender Sharma (Ind)
625 March 2419:30Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab KingsM. Chinnaswamy Stadium, BengaluruAnil Chaudhary (Ind) and Saidharshan Kumar (Ind)
726 March 2419:30Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat TitansM. A. Chidambaram Stadium, ChennaiTapan Sharma (Ind) and Alex Wharf (Eng)
827 March 2419:30Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai IndiansRajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, HyderabadK. N. Ananthapadmanabhan (Ind) and Ulhas Gandhe (Ind)
928 March 2419:30Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi CapitalsSawai Mansingh Stadium, JaipurNand Kishore (Ind) and Nitin Menon (Ind)
1029 March 2419:30Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight RidersM. Chinnaswamy Stadium, BengaluruAnil Chaudhary (Ind) and Rohan Pandit (Ind)
1130 March 2419:30Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab KingsEkana Cricket Stadium, LucknowJayaraman Madanagopal (Ind) and Navdeep Singh (Ind)
1231 March 2415:30Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers HyderabadNarendra Modi Stadium, AhmedabadSaiyed Khalid (Ind) and Virender Sharma (Ind)
1331 March 2419:30Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super KingsACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, VizagKumar Dharmasena (SL) and Vinod Seshan (Ind)
141 April 2419:30Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan RoyalsWankhede Stadium, MumbaiYeshwant Barde (Ind) and Saidharshan Kumar (Ind)
152 April 2419:30Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super GiantsM. Chinnaswamy Stadium, BengaluruNikhil Patwardhan (Ind) and Alex Wharf (Eng)
163 April 2419:30Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight RidersACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, VizagUlhas Gandhe (Ind) and Akshay Totre (Ind)
174 April 2419:30Gujarat Titans vs Punjab KingsNarendra Modi Stadium, AhmedabadVineet Kulkarni (Ind) and Nitin Menon (Ind)
185 April 2419:30Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super KingsRajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, HyderabadYeshwant Barde (Ind) and Rohan Pandit (Ind)
196 April 2419:30Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers BengaluruSawai Mansingh Stadium, JaipurJayaraman Madanagopal (Ind) and Tapan Sharma (Ind)
207 April 2415:30Mumbai Indians vs Delhi CapitalsWankhede Stadium, MumbaiKumar Dharmasena (SL) and Ulhas Gandhe (Ind)
217 April 2419:30Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat TitansEkana Cricket Stadium, LucknowNand Kishore (Ind) and Virender Sharma (Ind)

IPL 2024 First Match details

  • Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at 20:00 IST

Can RCB break the Chennai jinx?

Faf du Plessis’ amazing showing just one month ago qualified the Johannesburg Super Kings for the SA20 playoffs. And in four months, he will be back in the yellow uniform for the Texas Super Kings, partnering with head coach Stephen Fleming. Their history dates back to 2011 when du Plessis was signed by Chennai Super Kings before he had even represented South Africa in international cricket.

However, du Plessis has currently given up his yellow second skin in favor of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s red and blue for the rest of this IPL. He was once a fan favorite at Chepauk and on Friday, he will make his debut as the captain of the RCB in Chennai. He will not, however, be facing the opponent that du Plessis had anticipated.

Just hours before the teams reported for training on the eve of the IPL 2024 season opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad, the previous opening partner of Plessis, was named CSK’s captain, taking MS Dhoni’s place.

Given that the odds are stacked against RCB in Chennai, Gaikwad has a proud record to protect. They had previously defeated CSK at Chepauk during Fleming’s playing days in the inaugural IPL season (2008). RCB has since suffered seven straight losses. In the match that took place there in 2019, they were dismissed for 70 runs in 17.1 overs. That RCB forced CSK to work till the 18th over of their winning chase was because of Moeen Ali and Yuzvendra Chahal.

While Moeen may bat with three other spinners on Friday against the Royals (Mahesh Theekshana, Ravindra Jadeja, and part-timer Rachin Ravindra) on what may be another slow pitch, Chahal is currently with the Rajasthan Royals. On the other hand, Mayank Dagar (left-arm finger spin), Himanshu Sharma (mystery spin), Karn Sharma (leg-spin), and Swapnil Singh (left-arm finger spin) are the only choices available to the RCB team in terms of elite spinners. This season, it appears that RCB has thrown all of its eggs into one basket—both at home and abroad.

IPL 2024 First Match
Earlier this year, Virat Kohli made his T20I return with a forceful cameo against Afghanistan.

Team news: Dhoni and Kohli return

Following knee surgery after the previous IPL season, 42-year-old Dhoni is expected to make his comeback after almost a year out. After missing the Ranji Trophy knockouts due to injury, CSK’s designated spin batter Shivam Dube is also well. But they will be missing their death-overs specialist, Matheesha Pathirana, the slinger from Sri Lanka, who is injured to his hamstring and will miss the first few matches of the 2024 Indian Premier League.

After a two-month hiatus, Virat Kohli will also play competitive cricket again for the RCB. Since the last IPL, he has only participated in two T20 matches (against Afghanistan in January). This season will serve as his preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will take place in June. Will Kohli bat like he did against Afghanistan in the first two innings? He showed an unusually aggressive approach.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Chennai Super Kings

Considering Dube is working his way back from injury, CSK might play him as a batter alone and pick one of Mukesh Choudhary or Tushar Deshpande, last season’s highest wicket-taker, while bowling.

  • Possible bat-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Maheesh Theekshana
  • Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Mukesh Choudhary/Tushar Deshpande

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

One of Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, or Suyash Prabhudessai might be picked to lengthen RCB’s batting if they bat first, to be replaced by a spinner – Himanshu or Karn – in the second innings. Or vice versa.

  • Possible bat-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Anuj Rawat/Mahipal Lomror/Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Mayank Dagar, 10 Akash Deep/Vyshak Vijaykumar, 11 Mohammed Siraj
  • Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Alzarri Joseph, 8 Mayank Dagar, 9 Akash Deep/Vyshak Vijaykumar, 10 Himanshu Sharma/Karn Sharma, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Stats that matter

  • Jadeja aces his match-up against Glenn Maxwell. The left-arm finger spinner has dismissed Maxwell six times in 51 balls while giving away 70 runs in the IPL. No other bowler has dismissed Maxwell more times in the league.
  • Gaikwad has a favorable record against both Alzarri Joseph (47 off 25 balls, one dismissal) and Lockie Ferguson (56 off 29 balls, no dismissals) in the IPL.
  • Kohli (985) is 73 runs away from surpassing Shikhar Dhawan (1057) as the top run-getter against CSK in the IPL. Kohli’s record against spin in Chennai in the powerplay, though, isn’t impressive: 15 runs off 23 balls with two dismissals.
  • RCB’s spinners Dagar and Himanshu have a combined one wicket in four matches in the IPL.

Pitch and conditions

The IPL 2024 opener will be played on the center wicket at Chepauk, which traditionally is a spin-friendly one. It is different from the sharp turner that was used for the Ranji Trophy fixture between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka last month.

IPL 2024 Venues

Twelve Indian stadiums will host the league stage matches. The Arun Jaitley Stadium will host the Delhi Capitals’ first two home games at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium because it will not be available for use immediately following the 2024 Women’s Premier League. Mullanpur Cricket Stadium and IS Bindra Stadium will host Punjab Kings home games. Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium will host the first game.

CityTeamStadiumCapacity
AhmedabadGujarat TitansNarendra Modi Stadium132,000
BengaluruRoyal Challengers BengaluruM. Chinnaswamy Stadium35,000
ChennaiChennai Super KingsM. A. Chidambaram Stadium39,000
DelhiDelhi CapitalsArun Jaitley Stadium35,200
HyderabadSunrisers HyderabadRajiv Gandhi Stadium55,000
JaipurRajasthan RoyalsSawai Mansingh Stadium25,000
KolkataKolkata Knight RidersEden Gardens65,500
LucknowLucknow Super GiantsEkana Cricket Stadium50,000
MohaliPunjab KingsInderjit Singh Bindra Stadium26,000
MullanpurPunjab KingsMaharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium38,000
MumbaiMumbai IndiansWankhede Stadium33,108
VishakhapatnamDelhi CapitalsACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium27,500

In conclusion

The first game of the IPL 2024 season is expected to be an exciting spectacle, with all eyes on Virat Kohli’s eagerly awaited comeback to the field and MS Dhoni’s new role. Fans may anticipate an exciting exhibition of cricketing expertise as these two renowned players showcase their abilities in this premier cricketing tournament. Viewers may keep up to speed on all the most recent information and analysis regarding this much-anticipated game as well as the whole Indian Premier League season by subscribing to updates from todaysheadline.com. Cricket fans everywhere are anticipating seeing the magic happen on the field as the suspense grows, laying the groundwork for what looks to be an exciting season.

IPL 2024: Tickets for the CSK vs. RCB match on March 22 go on sale! Check the ticket price, direct links, and other details.

IPL 2024 Tickets Booking: Ditching the tradition, this year the defending champions will not face the runners up of the last season.

IPL 2024 tickets update: It’s finally over! The ticket sales for the awaited opening match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK vs. RCB) have started. Thus, this is the ideal location for you if you’re one of those fans who wants to see legendary cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action among other celebrities like Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis.

Here’s all you need to know about how to book IPL tickets this season

When is the IPL 2024 starting?

On March 22, 2024, the 17th season of the Indian Premier League began

CLICK HERE TO CHECK IPL 2024 FULL SCHEDULE 

Do you need to enter the stadium with actual copies of your tickets?

Fans will be able to enter the stadium using their e-tickets and not need to bring hard copies. “Patron purchasing online tickets will be allowed entry by scanning e-tickets with barcode/QR code at the gate,” a CSK press statement stated. Should scanners identify them as duplicates, patrons will not be allowed admission.

Also Read: IPL 2024 Ticket Purchase: Cost, Online and Offline Booking Methods?

CSK vs RCB Ticket prices

CSK vs RCB Ticket prices

StandsRateMode of SellingSale Date
C |D | E – LowerRs 1700Online Sales18.03.2024
I | J | K – UpperRs 4,000Online Sales18.03. 2024
I | J | K – LowerRs 4500Online Sales18.03.2024
C | D | E – UpperRs 4,000Online Sales18.03.2024
KMK TerraceRs 7,500Online Sales18.03.2024

What’s the venue of the CSK vs RCB opener?

IPL 2024 Venues: The CSK vs RCB showdown will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Popularly known as Chepauk, this is the home ground of CSK.

What time will gates open for CSK vs RCB?

Entry gates at the MA Chidambaram Stadium will be opened at 4.30 pm for the inaugural IPL 2024 game between CSK and RCB on 22nd of March.

Do I need to follow any instructions at Chepauk?

Yes, there are a set of instructions that the patrons are required to keep in mind. These are:

  • MA Chidambaram Stadium is designated as a plastic-free zone, prohibiting the entry of plastic bags and related items.
  • Free drinking water treated through reverse osmosis (RO) is accessible for the public in all stands.
  • Limited seats in the I lower stand are reserved for physically challenged patrons requiring wheelchairs, ensuring accessibility to the stadium.
  • Entry for patrons with online tickets will be facilitated through scanning e-tickets bearing a barcode/QR code at the gate; duplicate tickets will be rejected.
  • Gates will open at 4:30 pm for the inaugural game on March 22nd.No re-entry will be allowed once patrons exit the stadium premises.
  • Patrons purchasing tickets from sources other than Patym insider do so at their own risk.       

IPL 2024: Online ticket sales for the CSK vs. RCB match will start on March 18.

On March 18, 2024, tickets for the first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings would go on sale online. This is part of the Tata IPL 2024.

Tickets for the match scheduled for March 22, 2024, at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai, will go on sale on Monday, March 18, 2024, at 9:30 AM via the insider.in website and the Paytm app.

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Points to note regarding the IPL opener

  • MA Chidambaram stadium is plastic free zone and no plastic bags or any other plastic related items will be allowed inside the premises.
  • RO treated Free drinking water facility is available for public in all stands.
  • Patrons buying online tickets will be allowed entry by scanning e-tickets with barcode/ QR code at the gate. Patrons will be denied entry if scanners find them to be duplicate
  • Entry gates will be opened at 4.30pm for the inaugural game on 22nd of March

The season’s first match

The opening game of the season will match RCB against the reigning champions CSK.

The reigning champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 22 to kick off the Indian Premier League IPL 2024.
The second big opening-day match of the season will be a match between Hardik Pandya former and present teams, with Gujarat Titans hosting Mumbai Indians on March 24 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

IPL Schedule 2024

The 2024 Indian Premier League is scheduled to begin on March 22, 2024, and run through April 7, 2024. This year, with 74 exciting contests spanning over six weeks, looks to be even larger and better.

The 17th season of the Indian Premier League, which is organized annually by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), will include ten clubs this year. On December 19, 2023, the franchises bid on players at the IPL 2024 Auction.

The season is set to begin with a bang at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on March 23rd when the powerful Gujarat Titans take on the perennially popular Chennai Super Kings.

Match NoFixtureDateVenueTime
1.CSK vs RCBMarch 22Chennai7:30 PM IST
2.PBKS vs DCMarch 23Mohali3:30 PM IST
3.KKR vs SRHMarch 23Kolkata7:30 PM IST
4.RR vs LSGMarch 24Jaipur3:30 PM IST
5.GT vs MIMarch 24Ahmedabad7:30 PM IST
6.RCB vs PBKSMarch 25Bengaluru7:30 PM IST
7.CSK vs GTMarch 26Chennai7:30 PM IST
8.SRH vs MIMarch 27Hyderabad7:30 PM IST
9.RR vs DCMarch 28Jaipur7:30 PM IST
10.RCB vs KKRMarch 29Bengaluru7:30 PM IST
11.LSG vs PBKSMarch 30Lucknow7:30 PM IST
12.GT vs SRHMarch 31Ahmedabad3:30 PM IST
13.DC vs CSKMarch 31Visakhapatnam7:30 PM IST
14.MI vs RRApril 1Mumbai7:30 PM IST
15.RCB vs LSGApril 2Bengaluru7:30 PM IST
16.DC vs KKRApril 3Visakhapatnam7:30 PM IST
17.GT vs PBKSApril 4Ahmedabad7:30 PM IST
18.SRH vs CSKApril 5Hyderabad7:30 PM IST
19.RR vs RCBApril 6Jaipur7:30 PM IST
20.MI vs DCApril 7Mumbai3:30 PM IST
21.LSG vs GTApril 7Lucknow7:30 PM IST

IPL 2024 Teams updated: complete teams, players list following replacements and withdrawal!

IPL 2024: After taking into consideration player changes and withdrawals, the following are the modified squads for each of the ten clubs competing in the upcoming Indian Premier League season.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season will be begin at the M.A. Gandhi Stadium in Chennai on March 22, when the defending champion Chennai Super Kings will play Royal Challengers Bangalore.A total of 10 teams will take part in the T20 extravaganza, which will be held in the home-and-away format.

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Here are the team-wise Teams for IPL 2024

  • Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (c), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly. 

Players injured/withdrawn: Devon Conway.

  • Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma. 
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan. 
  • Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain.

 Players injured/withdrawn: Jason Roy, Gus Atkinson.

  • Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson. 

Players injured/withdrawn: Mohammed Shami, Robin Minz.

  • Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Mohd. Arshad Khan.  

Players injured/withdrawn: Mark Wood.

  • Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger.  

Players injured/withdrawn: Prasidh Krishna.

  • Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c), Pravin Dubey, David Warner, Vicky Ostwal, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lalit Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mitchell Marsh, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Swastik Chhikara.  

Players injured/withdrawn: Harry Brook, Lungi Ngidi.

  • Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw. 
  • Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram (c), Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed , Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan. 

CSK Suffer major injury blow ahead of IPL 2024 as Devon Conway ruled out until May!

Devon Conway injured his thumb during the T20I series against Australia

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings suffered a major injury blow three weeks before the start of their title defence as opener Devon Conway has been ruled out of action until May. Conway, who was the player of the match in Chennai’s win against Gujarat Titans in the 2023 final, will be sidelined for almost eight weeks after it was revealed that he underwent surgery on his left thumb last week.

Conway injured his thumb during the T20I series against Australia and hence skipped the ongoing Test series. The decision to have surgery was taken following a medical consultation. The recovery period is estimated to be around eight weeks, which implies that the left-handed opener won’t be available for more than half of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, which will kick off on March 22 with CSK taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Conway made his IPL debut in 2022 after CSK roped in the New Zealand star for his base price of INR 1 crore at the Mega Auction. In 23 appearances for the franchise, he scored 924 runs at 48.63 with nine fifties. His best performance came last season, when he amassed 672 runs in 16 matches, laced with six fifties.

With Conway slated to be absent, CSK could try out fellow New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra, who was roped in for INR 1.8 crore at the auction last December following his stellar show at the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup in India.

Ravindra too had suffered an injury scare during the T20I contest against Australia as he was benched for the second match following a knee pain. However, he had recovered in time to make an appearance for New Zealand in the first Test against the Aussies, where he had scored a fifty in the second innings in Wellington.

Last month, IPL announced the schedule for only the first 21 games of the 2024 season. The remainder of the schedule will be released after the announcement of the Indian general election dates. CSK will play four matches during this period – against RCB, Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, respectively. Their opening two matches will be played at home, and the other two are away games.

This article is originally published on Hindustantimes.News!

Also Read : Delhi Budget 2024 Live: Atishi to present Budget based on ‘Ram Rajya’ concept!

IPL 2024 Schedule Announcement Live Updates: Blockbuster fixtures of all 10 teams to be unveiled today!

IPL 2024

IPL 2024 Schedule Announcement Live Updates: In just a little while, the BCCI is set to unveil the much-awaited schedule of the IPL 2024. Set for its 16th season, the Indian Premier League promises to be bigger and better than ever. And although there is a possibility that not all fixtures might be revealed today, realisation strikes that we may be just a month away from Indian cricket’s biggest T20 carnival. After all, it feels just last month that Ravindra Jadeja struck a boundary off the last ball to take Chennai Super Kings to their fifth IPL title, but the fact remains that it’s been 8 long months to that epic night in Ahmedabad. Guess that’s what the IPL does – leave an ever-lasting impact.

The IPL 2024’s biggest roadblock was the fact that it is expected to clash with the general elections. Twice has it happened previously, and it led to scattered decisions. The 2009 edition was moved entirely to South Africa, whereas in 2014, the IPL was played in two halves – the first in the UAE and the other back in India. In 2019 though, the two events did not collide, and hence the IPL, starting March 23, was played entirely in India. This year too, while there were speculations, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal clarified once and for all that the IPL will not be moved abroad, but the full picture will only be painted once there is more clarity.

Back to the cricket. This year’s IPL has so much to look forward to. Mumbai Indians have a new captain in Hardik Pandya and Gujarat Titans has Shubman Gill. And of course, the big swansong of MS Dhoni. The Chennai Super Kings captain said last year that winning the IPL in 2023 would have been the perfect time for him to retire but he plans on coming back for one last run ‘next year’. Cut to 2024, here we are. In what is Dhoni’s final season in all probability, MSD is rocking shades of when he burst on to the scene. He has grown his hair like it was in the mid-2000s is likely to play with BAS as his bat sticker. Only Dhoni is capable of such meaningful and priceless gestures.

Moving on to CSK’s biggest rivals, the Mumbai Indians have already created headlines even before the start of the tournament. In fact, they created ripples on December 15, 2023 itself when they announced Hardik the new captain of the franchise, replacing Rohit Sharma. The decision created a social media storm with truckloads of MI and other fans spamming their franchise’s timelines and being vocal with their displeasure. But it is what it is. The team felt that now is the right time for MI, who have gone without a title for three seasons, to make the transition, and once Hardik came on board, they just knew who it was going to be. In fact, according to reports, Hardik’s stipulation for his return to MI was allegedly a guarantee of captaincy.

Outside of MI and CSK, the biggest factor heading into the IPL 2024 are the auction, that took place on December 19, where Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh struck gold. The Australian pace-bowling duo smashed records, with Cummins becoming the first player to surpass the 20-crore margin, eventually heading to Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, even before the news if Cummins’ record-breaking deal could reach to all parts of the world, it was bettered by Starc, who became the costliest player of all time, with KKR splurging a gobsmacking ₹24.75 crore on him. Meanwhile, Harshal Patel emerged as the most expensive India, with Punjab Kings shelling out ₹11.75 crore.

So yeah, the stage is set. Will Cummins, Starc be able to live up to the expectations? Who will be this year’s breakout star? Which two teams will play the IPL 2024 opener. The first step towards answering all these questions will be taken today at 5PM.

Below are a few important pointers related to the IPL 2024 Schedule Announcement:

– The schedule will be announced today at 5PM.

– The entire schedule is not likely to be unveiled.

– The IPL 2024 is expected to begin on March 22.

– The opening fixture could be between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.

– The entire IPL 2024 will take place in India.

This Article Was Originally Published on Hindustantimes News!

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