Picture Credit: IPL
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is set to commence in a few hours from now. While the stage is set for the tournament opener between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, it is pertinent to note that amid a packed international schedule and injury concerns, there are quite a few players who will be missing the first few matches of their respective franchises.
This means almost all teams will not be having their best XI players available to them when they play their first match of the season. In addition, there are some players who have pulled out of the entire season already and their replacements have been roped in by the team.
Here is a team-wise list of players who will miss the first few matches of IPL 2022:
1. Chennai Super Kings
Speedster Deepak Chahar is all set to miss several matches of the IPL 2022. While the right-arm pacer is expected to be available at some stage, he is surely not in the plans until mid-April owing to a quadriceps injury. In addition, the Men in Yellow will be without Moeen Ali in the first match due to a delay in the procurement of his visa. Dwaine Pretorius is also set to be unavailable for CSK's opening match against KKR.
2. Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals will have to deal with the unavailability of David Warner for their first two matches. Moreover, Warner's fellow Australian Mitchell Marsh is set to miss the first three games. In addition, the South African duo of Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman, both of whom were part of the South Africa-Bangladesh ODI series, will miss DC's first match.
However, DC's biggest concern is regarding Anrich Nortje who has joined the team but is expected to be available only at a later stage in the tournament as he continues his recovery from an injury.
3. Gujarat Titans
West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph, who is featuring in the third Test match against England, will miss Gujarat Titans' first game against Lucknow Super Giants in what is their only availability concern.
4. Kolkata Knight Riders
Aaron Finch, who was roped in as a replacement for Alex Hales, will not be available for the first few matches of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Pat Cummins is likely to miss the first three matches as he is set to attend Shane Warne's state memorial on March 30. Tim Southee will be available for the starting matches but could miss the Playoff games including the final if KKR manage to reach there due to his international commitments.
5. Lucknow Super Giants
West Indian duo of Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers will be available only after the first week of IPL. Both of them are playing a Test match against England. Meanwhile, Marcus Stoinis will also be missing at least the first three matches.
6. Mumbai Indians
Star India batter Suryakumar Yadav is set to be unavailable for Mumbai Indians' opening match against Delhi Capitals. He sustained a hairline fracture and will play only after getting a clearance from the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
7. Royal Challengers Bangalore
Glenn Maxwell recently got married and will miss at least the first two matches of the season. In addition, the fast bowling Aussie duo of Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff will also be missing the first three matches.
8. SunRisers Hyderabad
Sean Abbott will miss the first three matches for their side. No other availability concern for the Orange Army.