IPL 2021: Why is Ishant Sharma not playing in the CSK vs DC game?

Three-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals are up against each other in the second match of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The match will be the memorable one for the young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant as he is donning the skipper’s hat for the first time.

Pant was named as the captain of the side after Shreyas Iyer succumbed to a shoulder injury during the first ODI of the three-match series against England and was thus ruled out of the T20 extravaganza. The fact that makes this game more surreal for Rishabh is that he is making his captaincy debut against his mentor and former Indian captain MS Dhoni.

Entering the highly-anticipated contest, the newly-appointed skipper won the toss and decided to chase the total put up by the Super Kings. Delhi was forced to make some significant changes in their Playing XI. As Iyer has been ruled out, Ajinkya Rahane got a chance in the Playing XI while DC also tried a new pace combination. 

Their match-winning pace duo of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada missed out on the match against CSK as they were unavailable for selection. The two seamers arrived late in India after completing their international duties and are still undergoing their mandatory seven-day quarantine period.

Delhi includes young Avesh Khan in the Playing XI

In the absence of Rabada and Nortje, two Indian pacers including the likes of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav were expected to feature in the Playing XI alongside an overseas pacer in the form of Chris Woakes or Tom Curran. However, Delhi managed to spring a surprise as they decided to play both the all-rounders Woakes and Curran to provide depth to their batting line-up.

For the Indian pace slot, the franchise selected Avesh Khan. This came as a shocker for many as Avesh has thus far featured in just nine matches taking 5 wickets at an economy rate of 9.96 and an average of 59.8. Ishant and Umesh, on the other hand, have decent records while bowling in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ishant has 71 wickets while Umesh has 119 wickets from 90 and 121 IPL games respectively.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif confirmed that Ishant has given the first match a miss as he has suffered an injury. While the gravity of the injury suffered by the Indian pace sensation is unknown, there has been no update on Umesh Yadav.