Chennai Super Kings’ Faf du Plessis is not available to play the second game of the season. He is yet to recover from the finger injury which he suffered during the Test series against Australia and need some more time to be match fit.
He already missed the first contest due to the same reason against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium.
It comes as a big blow for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who recently suffered a blow in form of Kedar Jadhav.
The right-handed batsman Jadhav was ruled out of IPL due to a hamstring tear. He suffered the injury during the opener of IPL 2018 against Rohit Sharma-led Indians.
The non-availability of the two players leaves MS Dhoni with fewer options to pick from.
Dhruv Shorey is expected to replace him in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings are all set to face Kolkata Knight Riders in their first home game on April 10.
It will be after a period of three years when Chennai will be hosting an IPL contest at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
CSK have one win in as many games. They defeated Mumbai Indians in the first game of the season which turned out to be a thriller.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side chased down a total of 166 in the first game. They needed seven runs to win in the final over.
It was Kedar Jadhav who sealed the contest by hitting a six and a four on the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman.
He will also not be available for Chennai Super Kings.
It has been learnt that David Willey might replace him in the side.
In fact, the franchise has completed paperwork and just an official announcement is to be made from CSK camp.
The English cricketer Willey is expected to join the team later this week.