Players who can replace the injured Raina in CSK playing XI

Jagadeesan was picked at his base price of 20 lakh in the IPL 2018 Auction. He has a healthy average of 30.85 and a strike-rate of 127.05.

The blessing in disguise for Chennai is the long gap they have now before their third game, which is on April 15 against Kings XI Punjab.

If Chennai does not want to bank on their domestic batting prowess then they will obviously have the option to give South African captain Faf du Plessis his first game of the season. That will make their bowling a bit thin then as Imran Tahir will have to sit out of the playing XI. Bravo, Watson and Billings are certain to feature in the line-up.

Vijay, who was unavailable for the first two encounters because of the minor injury is up and ready and should be the frontrunner to replace Raina. The experienced right-hander has good numbers opening for CSK and KXIP. If CSK does decide to go with Vijay then Rayudu will slot in at No. 3 and Vijay will open the innings with Watson.

Murali Vijay: The India test opener would perhaps have been the first choice in the playing XI instead of makeshift opener Ambati Rayudu, had he not suffered an untimely injury during the practice session.

Dhruv Shorey: A talented young right-hander from Delhi, who has taken giant strides after having a productive domestic season, will be an ideal replacement at the top of the order.

Shorey, picked up in his base price of 20 lakhs, was particularly impressive in the led-up to the IPL, striking at a healthy strike rate of 160 in the practice matches at Chepauk.

Narayan Jagadeesan: The Tamil Nadu Premiere League player of the season 2016, is a lusty hitter of the cricket ball and can be the perfect follow-up after the big-hitting Watson-Rayudu opening pair.

Just a day after Kedar Jadhav was ruled out of the entire tournament, Chennai were dealt with another heavy blow after ‘chinna thala’ Suresh Raina was sidelined for at least ten days due to a calf injury.

However, not all is lost for the CSK fans. Here are three players who can replace Raina in the playing XI.

The Super Kings are at the top of the table after winning their first two games but have been pegged back because of multiple injuries to its key players, Suresh Raina being the latest.

Injuries and off the fields incidents have marred Chennai Super Kings’ stunning comeback into the Indian Premiere League after a gap of two years.

Jadhav is set to be replaced by England fast bowler David Willey but it will be very hard for Chennai to replace Raina, who has never missed a match for the yellow brigade.