Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the season opener of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 in Chennai on Friday.
The yellow brigade will be without star attacking batsman Ambati Rayudu this season. Rayudu announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket last year.
Meanwhile, CSK batting coach Michael Hussey made a bombshell prediction about Rayudu’s replacement in the squad. As per Hussey, 20-year-old Sameer Rizvi could be the replacement for Rayudu in the MS Dhoni led squad.
CSK bought Rizvi for ₹8.4 crore in the mini-auction in Dubai. Rizvi caught everyone’s attention during the UPT20 league last year. He garnered a total of 455 runs in 10 matches at an impressive average of over 50 including two centuries and a fifty.
“Most definitely. I think Rizvi can definitely play that role. I mean Ambati Rayudu is someone who has so much experience and he’s played for so long. So, he’s a seasoned campaigner, whereas Rizvi is just starting out in his IPL career,” said Hussey.
“So, we can’t expect Rizvi to be doing exactly what Rayudu has been doing for so many years. But, of course, we can start developing him and he’s got a lot of natural ability. So, it’s exciting. It’s exciting to see how far he can go,” the former Australian great added.