OPINION
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Player(s) ruled out with injury: Deepak Chahar
CSK’s most expensive purchase at the auction table, Deepak Chahar is set to miss more than half the IPL 2022 season after suffering a right quadricep injury in the T20I series against West Indies.
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: None
How will Chahar’s absence affect CSK?
The Super Kings went all-out in the auction to acquire Chahar’s services, but his injury means that they will have to play the first half of the season without a capped Indian pacer. It is a significant blow as not only is Chahar one of their trump cards with the ball, he also provides the team with valuable batting depth. The team, as a result, will either have to shoo-in the inexperienced but talented Rajvardhan Hangargekar as a like-for-like replacement, or make do with Tushar Deshpande/Simarjeet Singh/KM Asif complimenting the overseas seamers.
Mumbai Indians
Ruled out for the whole season with injury: Jofra Archer
Other injury concerns: Suryakumar Yadav
After suffering a hairline fracture in his thumb, Suryakumar Yadav missed the T20Is against Sri Lanka. The same injury is expected to keep him out of at least Mumbai’s first encounter on the 27th against Delhi Capitals. Given Mumbai don’t play again till April 2nd, there is the possibility that they could have SKY’s services from the second game onwards. No official word from the franchise, however.
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: None
Both Riley Meredith and Daniel Sams have already joined the MI camp due to not being a part of the Pakistan tour and not having central contracts. Tymal Mills too has already begun training with the franchise.
How will Suryakumar’s absence affect MI in the first game?
Suryakumar’s expected absence will severely weaken Mumbai’s batting, for it will likely mean both Anmolpreet Singh and Tilak Varma featuring in the Top 4.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Injury concerns: None
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff
With Cricket Australia confirming that no contracted Australian player would be available to play in the IPL till April 6th, Hazlewood and Maxwell (who will be sitting out due to wedding) will miss at least RCB’s first three clashes (PBKS, KKR and RR). Behrendorff could miss more than three games, considering he is a part of Australia’s white-ball tour of Pakistan that ends on April 5th.
How will this affect RCB?
Losing both Hazlewood and Behrendorff will mean that RCB will have to opt for David Willey in the initial few matches as the third seamer alongside Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj. His ability with the bat, and his exceptional new-ball numbers, will in all likelihood give him an edge over someone like a Sid Kaul. On the batting front, it’ll be one of Finn Allen or Sherfane Rutherford that’ll have to replace Maxwell. While Rutherford is a like-for-like (middle-order) replacement, bringing in Allen will mean a definite early stint in the middle-order for Virat Kohli.
Delhi Capitals
Major injury concern: Anrich Nortje
Having not played any professional cricket since November, Anrich Nortje’s availability remains a mystery. The word going around is that he is unlikely to feature in the entirety of the IPL 2022 season, though this remains a speculation. There has been no official word from the involved parties to this very moment.
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: Mitchell Marsh, David Warner
Warner will miss DC’s first two games (vs MI and Gujarat), while Marsh will miss at least three matches due to being a part of the Pakistan tour.
How will this affect DC?
DC are arguably the worst-affected team by the combination of injury/unavailability. Starting the season without both Warner and Marsh means that they’ll have to field Tim Seifert and Rovman Powell, although an argument can be made that the latter anyway makes Delhi’s strongest XI. It goes without saying, however, that they will miss serious firepower and experience. On the other hand, losing Nortje will be a body blow. It will leave the Capitals without an out-and-out speedster that can intimidate teams with express pace. Mustafizur Rahman and Lungi Nigi are, as things stand, the other overseas seamers in DC’s squad.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Out for the whole season: Alex Hales (bubble fatigue)
Injury concerns: None
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins
The front-loaded scheduling of KKR means that the franchise will be without the services of both Aaron Finch (Hales’ replacement) and Pat Cummins for each of their first 4 games (CSK, RCB, PBKS and MI).
How will this affect KKR?
The Knight Riders losing both their incumbent opener (Hales) and his replacement (Finch, albeit for a limited duration) means that they will have no choice but to open with Ajinkya Rahane. The absence of an overseas opener, however, could benefit Sam Billings, who might make the starting XI as the first-choice wicket-keeper. As for Pat Cummins, KKR can choose to replace him with an all-rounder in the form of Chamika Karunaratne, or opt for the experience of Tim Southee. Picking Southee will add more teeth to the pace attack, but Karunaratne will be able to provide the lower-order firepower that the team got last season from Cummins.
Punjab Kings
Injury concerns: None
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: Jonny Bairstow and Nathan Ellis
While Bairstow will miss the first game versus RCB on the 27th due to England duty (the Windies Tests get over on the 28th), Ellis is expected to miss up to four matches due to being a part of Australia’s white-ball squad to take on Pakistan.
How will this affect PBKS?
The unavailability of Nathan Ellis is unlikely to affect Punjab too much, given the right-armer is anyway not expected to be a starter. Bairstow will be a big miss against RCB, and his absence could open the door for both Bhanuka Rajapaksa (overseas batter) and Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper). Prabhsimran and Jitesh Sharma are the other wicketkeepers in Punjab’s squad outside of Bairstow, and the former will most likely get the nod due to his experience.
Rajasthan Royals
The Royals are, as things stand, the only side unaffected by both injuries and unavailability. The Sanju Samson-led side will have a full-strength XI available at their disposal for their first encounter of the season against SRH on March 29th.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers do not have any major injury concerns and are set to miss only Sean Abbott for the first three games of their season. It should not be a major blow for the franchise, given Abbott is someone who is not expected to make the starting XI.
Lucknow Super Giants
Ruled out for the whole season with injury: Mark Wood
After sustaining an elbow injury during the first Test against West Indies, Wood has been ruled out of the entirety of IPL 2022. The Super Giants are seeking a replacement for the tearaway.
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, *Kyle Mayers (* potentially)
While Stoinis will miss at least the first four games of the season (GT, CSK, SRH and DC), Holder could miss up to two games due to the England series ending only on the 28th. Kyle Mayers, meanwhile, like Holder, could miss the first two games should he be named in the squad for the third Test (that is yet to be announced).
How will this affect LSG?
Losing Stoinis for 4 games is less than ideal, but Lucknow will be severely handicapped in the first two games of the season with all three overseas all-rounders in the squad likely to be unavailable. Mayers is the only like-for-like replacement in the squad for both Stoinis/Holder, so losing him (along with the other two) will severely affect the dynamics of the side.
Initially, LSG might have to go batting heavy by bringing in Evin Lewis in place of one of the unavailable all-rounders, and hoard the team with Indian all-rounders (Hooda, Krunal, Gowtham all in the same side). Mark Wood’s injury is a severe blow too, but luckily the franchise has a like-for-like (arguably better) replacement in Dushmantha Chameera.
Gujarat Titans
Out for the entire season: Jason Roy (bubble fatigue)
Players set to be unavailable due to national commitment: Alzarri Joseph* (*potentially)
Alzarri Joseph will miss Gujarat’s first game against Lucknow should he be named in the squad for the third Test against England. Matthew Wade, meanwhile, is expected to be available from the first game after being left out of the white-ball series against Pakistan (Wade, crucially, does not hold a central contract).
How will this affect GT?
The Titans have already roped in the talented Rahmanullah Gurbaz as Roy’s replacement, so they are sorted on that front. Perhaps a slight downgrade if experience is taken into account, but still a pretty exciting signing. Joseph’s absence too is unlikely to bother GT, for Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Shami are expected to be the two frontline seamers. The Titans have a formidable spin attack to complement the two experienced speedsters.
