Devon Conway to Miss Half of IPL 2024: In what has come as a huge blow to MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2024, opener Devon Conway is set to miss at least the first half of the tournament.
The New Zealand opener suffered a thumb injury during the recent T20I series at home against Australia and consequently missed the first Test. He will now undergo surgery on his left thumb and will require about eight weeks to recover from that.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead confirmed this week that Devon Conway has a fracture on his left thumb, and the left-hander will require surgery for the same. The IPL 2024 season will start on March 22, with CSK, the defending champions, hosting Faf du Plessis’ RCB in Chennai. Since Conway is ruled out for a month and a half, he will miss about half of the tournament.
Devon Conway to Miss Half of IPL 2024:Played a Big Part in CSK Winning IPL 2023
Devon Conway was a key batsman in CSK lifting their 5th IPL title last season. The Kiwi opener amassed 672 runs last season at an excellent average of 51 and a strike rate of 139. Conway cracked six half-centuries in the IPL 2023.
He was the Man of the Match in the final against the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, as he blasted 47 runs in 25 balls that helped CSK get a quickfire start in a tall run chase.
Throughout the season, Conway formed solid, match-winning opening stands with young Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, now, in Conway’s partial absence, CSK will have to find a makeshift opener. CSK cannot bring in a replacement for Conway for half a season; a player can only be replaced if he is ruled out for the rest of the season and won’t take part later on.
CSK do have options for that. Moeen Ali and Ajinkya Rahane have regularly opened in T20 cricket. CSK can choose any one of the Kiwi trio of Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, and Rachin Ravindra to do opening duties.
Meanwhile, New Zealand had called up left-hander Henry Nicholls as the backup for Conway for the first Test against Australia, which they lost by 172 runs. Nicholls will stay with the squad for the second Test now that Conway has been ruled out.
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