The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to launch with the marquee clash between the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
This IPL season promises to be thrilling for two key reasons. Firstly, it is going to be the final season before the mega auctions. Secondly, it serves as a curtain-raiser to the T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be held in June in the United States of America and the Caribbean Islands.
Ahead of the mouth-watering clash, legendary CSK captain MS Dhoni handed over the baton to opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Team News: Dhoni and Kohli return
The 42-year-old MS Dhoni is returning to action after one year, following knee surgery after the conclusion of IPL 2023.
CSK All-rounder Shivam Dube is also fit after missing the Ranji Trophy knockouts due to injury. However, they will miss their death over weapon, Matheesha Pathirana, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Former RCB captain Virat Kohli is back in action after a two-month hiatus. Having played only two T20 games against Afghanistan in January since the last IPL, this season will serve as his preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.
Kohli exhibited an unusually aggressive approach in those two innings against Afghanistan; it remains to be seen if he will adopt the same style for RCB.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Faf du Plessis will continue to lead the three-time IPL finalists, who will be donning a different texture of red and blue this year.
Head-to-Head record
In their 31 encounters, CSK have dominated with 20 victories, while one match ended in a no-result. RCB has won just 10 of these matches.
Interestingly, the last time RCB beat CSK in their home was way back in 2008, which was the very first edition of IPL. Ever since, RCB have played seven games at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, only to lose all seven of them.
Pitch and weather
The IPL 2024 opener will be played on the central wicket at Chepauk, known for its spin-friendliness. It differs from the pitch used during the Ranji Trophy fixture between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka last month.
Squads
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, 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, Matheesha Pathirana.
RCB: 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.
By Aditya Ahuja