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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are likely to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener against Gujarat Titans (GT) without their legendary captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. CSK skipper Dhoni is yet to recover from niggle in his left knee, according to a report by Indian Express.
If Dhoni does not take the field at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad on March 31, New Zealand's Devon Conway is likely to keep the stumps. If Conway does not fit into the combination, Ambati Rayudu may take the gloves against defending champions.
However, it will be interesting to see who will don the captaincy hat if Dhoni does not recover. In addition, Ben Stokes is yet to regain full fitness as he is nursing a knee injury. Ravindra Jadeja stepped down from captaincy last year after a horrendous run. Ruturaj Gaikwad is another option to lead the side.
Earlier, CSK’s left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary was ruled out of entire season. Choudhary who was CSK’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the previous season is yet to recover from a back injury he picked up in December 2022.
Earlier this month CSK replaced an injured Kyle Jamieson with South Africa pacer Sisanda Magala who had a good season in inaugural SA20 league. Magala will also be unavailable for the first game as he is in South Africa's ODI squad against Netherlands. The two-ODI series is crucial for South Africa's direct qualification into ODI World Cup 2023 later this year.
CSK full squad for IPL 2023: MS Dhoni (c), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Subhranshu Senapati, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, K Bhagath Varma, Moeen Ali, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shivam Dube, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary (injured), Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Tushar Deshpande, Ben Stokes, Matheesha pathirana, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Sisanda Magala, Ajay Mandal
