The Indian Premier League 2023 is set to kick off on Friday, March 31. A total of 74 matches will be held this year and they will be played across 12 different venues across the country. While there have been a lot of headlines around the tournament schedule, date and time, we bring to you some of the latest buzz on players, their injuries and much more. Let’s dive in.
– Kolkata Knight Riders were in a quandry over Shreyas Iyer’s absence for quite sometime. Iyer has been sidelined from this season due to his recurring lower-back issue and since there is no definitive return date yet, KKR has asked Nitish Rana to step in as the captain on a temporary basis. There is a slight chance for Iyer to return in the second half of the season.
– Speaking of injuries, Chennai Super Kings
– Recently, a large crowd gathered at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai where CSK’s practice game was on. The stadium was filled with the chants of ‘Dhoni Dhoni’ and ‘Ben Stokes’, reported The Indian Express. The chanting makes it seem like the fans have already chosen Ben Stokes as Dhoni’s successor. In fact, the report further claimed that according to those in the know when CSK went back to the drawing board ahead of the player auction, Stokes name was top on Dhoni’s wish-list.
– For those unaware, Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah is going to miss this IPL season for the first time since his debut in 2013. It is definitely going to be challenging for Rohit Sharma to replace Bumrah given his skills. Mumbai Indians’ chance to have players with good bowling skills have degraded further with Jhye Richardson also being ruled out of the IPL, reports espncricinfo.
– Rumour has it that legendary Sachin Tendulkar