The upcoming edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) will start from March 22 and the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the opening match.
However, in a bad news to the CSK fans, the franchise is left to fret over injury concern to some key players. Promising speedster Matheesha Pathirana has suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain on his left leg.
The Sri Lankan slinger Pathirana suffered the niggle during the second T20I against Bangladesh at Sylhet on March 6 and left the field without completing his spell.
“Matheesha Pathirana will not be available for selection for the third T20I (on Saturday), as the player has sustained a Grade 1 hamstring injury on his left leg,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stated in a recent statement.
Pathirana had a great role in CSK’s title campaign last year as he had captured 19 wickets from 12 matches with good economy rate.
Earlier, CSK’s aggressive opener Devon Conway has been ruled out for at least the first half of the league. The New Zealand opener sustained a thumb injury during the recent T20I series against Australia and has missed the subsequent two-match Test series. He was the leading run scorer for the defending champions with a total of 672 runs, averaging around 52.