A depleted Rajasthan Royals have an onerous task of stopping the mighty Chennai Super Kings on a Sharjah belter with no Ben Stokes in their line-up but skipper Steve Smith’s availability after recovering from a concussion injury has lifted some gloom ahead of their IPL match on Tuesday.
The absence of Stokes would severely impact Royals’ campaign at least in the first half of the tournament because of the balance he brings to the side but having Smith in the playing XI would mean that the contest will not be without a fight.
Smith, who missed the ODI series against England, has undergone various concussion test protocols and is ready to tee off.
Apart from premier all-rounder Stokes, also absent from the first match will be Jos Buttler, their impact player at the top-order. The England batsman will be missing the first game as he arrived separately with his family and need to undergo mandatory 36-hour quarantine in Dubai.
Jofra Archer’s presence will be important along with seasoned T20 stars like South African batsman David Miller, Australian pacer Andrew Tye and England all-rounder Tom Curran.
The Royals’ main problem lies in their Indian core, which hasn’t exactly been consistent. The likes of Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Aaron have failed to live up to the expectations over the years.
Sharjah pitch will be a different challenge for the bowlers both in terms of surface as well as the size of the ground.
CSK have once again showed how to work around with resources and Sam Curran coming good with an all-round show means that Dwayne Bravo would not be missed even if he misses a few more games due to injury.
Rayudu and Faf perfectly maintained the CSK “run-chase template” of attacking in the back 10 by preserving wickets.
The addition of Piyush Chawla, a very successful IPL bowler, is also a big plus.
However it needs to be seen how Deepak Chahar is shaping up after sustaining a niggle in the final over of the MI innings. In case, Chahar can’t make it, they have ready replacement in Shardul Thakur.