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Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on last year’s finalists Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural match of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on March 26 (Saturday), at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai.
Players unavailable
Chennai Super Kings led by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will definitely want to start the 15th edition of IPL on a winning note as the defending champions will be determined to carry on their last season’s prolific show. But CSK will miss their English all-rounder Moeen Ali due to his visa issues and India’s Deepak Chahar will also be unavailable for the season opener as he is still recovering from his injury.
Ahead of the mega auction for the IPL 2022, CSK retained four players and they are- Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, English all-rounder Moeen Ali, skipper Ravindra Jadeja and former skipper MS Dhoni.
CSK will depend a lot on experienced players like MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in IPL 2022. Kiwi opener Devon Conway, English bowler Chris Jordan, New Zealand pacer Adam Milne and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will probably be the four overseas players to play against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Balanced bowling unit
On the other hand, the Shreyas Iyer-led KKR’s bowling department seems to be well-balanced as Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Tim Southee are expected to showcase their sublime bowling skills against CSK. The Kolkata-based franchise will probably start their innings with Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer. Southee, Andre Russell, Sam Billings and Sunil Narine are expected to be the four foreigners to play against CSK in the inaugural match of the IPL 2022.
Australian pair of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc will miss KKR's first five matches due to their international duties.
With the addition of two new teams, this year’s IPL will have 10 teams vying for the prestigious trophy. Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are the two new entrants.
Kolkata Knight Riders probable playing XI
Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tim Southee, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Sam Billings (wicketkeeper), Andre Russell
Chennai Super Kings probable playing XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (captain), MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Tushar Deshpande, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne
