The big is day here as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season opener is set to be played today when the Gujarat Titans will take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from 7:30 PM IST. However, just 24 hours before the match, news broke that CSK captain MS Dhoni slight injury and might miss the opening match.
It has been a long wait for the cricket fans, but the IPL 2023 is finally here and the fans have been buzzing about it as for the first time in 3 years, IPL will be played in home and away format.
The first match of the tournament is to be played today i.e. 31st March, between the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.
But, just hours before the match, news arose that CSK MS Dhoni has slight niggle and has not trained for the last 2 or 3 days. Even though he attended yesterday’s teams captains’ group photo in Ahmedabad, an Indian Express report say that the former India captain could be ruled out of the IPL 2023 opener.
Commenting on MS Dhoni’s injury update, CSK team CEO Kasi Viswanathan said he is 100 percent sure that the skipper will be available for today’s match. “As far as I am concerned, the skipper is 100 per cent playing. I don’t know about any other development,” he said.
Now if does Dhoni is ruled out, that would be a huge problem for them as CSK don’t have another proper wicketkeeper in the team and they will have to have either Kedar Jadhav or Devon Conway wear the gloves. On the other hand, future successor of MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes is likely to take the captaincy mantle or else, Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad could be another option.