The countdown for the 15th edition of the IPL has begun. Fans can already feel the heat and are charged up to cheer for their favorites sides as the tussle for the title is all set to start. IPL 2022 will witness the entry of two new teams to the setup, Lucknow Super Giants, and Gujarat Titans. With new contenders joining the hunt, the road to the finals will get way tougher for all the teams. IPL 15 will kick off on March 26 where the finalists of the last season CSK and KKR will lock horns with each other in the Wankhede Stadium. However, most of the franchises might miss out few of their players in the initial days of the tournament mostly because of ongoing national commitments.
Take a look at the list of prominent players from each franchise who might miss the first week of IPL 15.
Chennai Super Kings
The reigning champions will miss their frontline seamer Deepak Chahar in the 1st leg of this season. Chahar suffered a quadriceps injury and is currently under rehabilitation. Star all-rounder Moeen Ali is ruled out of the series opener as he is presently undergoing the 3-day mandatory quarantine after landing in Mumbai on March 24. Proteas speedster Dwaine Pretorius too will be unavailable for the same reason as he will need to undergo the mandatory 3-day quarantine routine before joining the squad.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins and limited-overs captain Aaron Finch are both presently a part of the Australian team touring Pakistan. Hence, the runners-up of IPL 2021, will miss the services of the two in the first week of the tournament. English opener Alex Hales withdrew his name from the upcoming season in order to take a bio-bubble break.
Mumbai Indians
MI signed English pacer Jofra Archer for a whopping sum of Rs. 8 crores INR in the mega auction. However, Archer ruled himself out of IPL 2022 entirely and will next be seen in IPL 2024. One of MI’s biggest match-winners Suryakumar Yadav will not feature in MI’s first game as he is currently recovering from a hairline thumb fracture.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
As per CA’s dictum of not allowing players under central contract to be part of any global cricket league when the national side is playing a bilateral series, RCB will miss the services of Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, and Jason Behrendorff.
Delhi Capitals
Australian cricketers, David Warner, and Mitchell Marsh will not feature in the first few games for DC. After playing the recently concluded bilateral series between South Africa and Bangladesh, Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman will need to undergo the mandatory isolation routine before joining the squad. Anrich Nortje has been out of the action of late and is most likely not match-fit yet.
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Rajasthan Royals
RR, fortunately, will not miss the services of their match-winners and is all set to play with full strength.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Australian fast bowler Sean Abbott is the only player who will remain unavailable for the first 3 matches.
Punjab Kings
Kagiso Rabada and Jonny Bairstow will not feature in the first few games for PBKS. The Proteas pacer was a part of SA’s squad in the recently concluded series against Bangladesh. While Bairstow is a member of the English squad touring West Indies for a Test series.
Gujarat Titans
Swashbuckling opener Jason Roy pulled out his name ahead of IPL 15 owing to bio-bubble fatigue. The franchise roped in Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz to replace Roy. Caribbean pacer Alzarri Joseph is presently a part of the Windies squad for the Test series against England. So he will not be available for the first match against LSG.
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Lucknow Super Giants
Marcus Stoinis was amongst the 3 players retained by LSG ahead of the mega auctions. The all-rounder will miss the first few matches as he is a part of the Australian squad for the Pakistan tour. Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers will also be unavailable because of the ongoing Test series between England and West Indies. After sustaining a right elbow injury, Mark Wood was replaced by T20 specialist Andrew Tye for IPL 2022.