The Newzealand left-arm pacer picked up a back injury and was also ruled out of the test series versus England played in February
Four-time IPL champions CSK have been dealt with a massive blow after the New Zealand left-arm pacer Kyle Jamieson was ruled out of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League as he is still nursing a back injury which kept him out of the test series versus England played in February. The Tamil Nadu-based Franchise announced South African Pacer Sisanda Magala as the replacement of Jamieson on Sunday. There is a long list of injured players ahead of the start of the 2024 season of IPL which includes the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Jhye Richardson, Will Jacks, and Prasidh Krishna while Shreyas Iyer is also doubtful for at least couple of matches as he has been advised a ten-day rest following the complaint of back spasm during the fourth and final test against Australia at Ahmedabad following which he was ruled out of the ODI series that followed the test series against the same opposition.
Image Courtesy: India Today
Talking about Sisanda Magala, the South African pacer made his international debut for the proteas in April 2021 against Pakistan in the T20 format. Although he has not played a T20I since his debut game he is considered to be a death-over specialist and also impressed everyone through his bowling in the powerplay in the recently concluded SA20 the franchise-based tournament in South Africa as he took half of his wickets in the tournament during the powerplay.
He seems to be the perfect replacement for Jamieson as he can contribute useful runs down the order just as Jamieson does which was evident twice against India when he made useful runs down the order when India toured Newzealand in early 2020 and during the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021.
One of the reasons for the signing of Magala by CSK could be the mindset of Dhoni who likes a long batting lineup which has been evident in CSK’S long history where the team always preferred players like Jadeja, Bravo, and Chahar to bat at number 7, 8 and 9 to strengthen their batting line-up which has come in handy on few occasions like in the IPL 2018 opener where Bravo smashed MI coming down the order to script an emphatic come from behind victory for the men in yellow. Another evidence of lower order contribution was seen during the IPL 2019 match against RR where Mitchel Santner hit a last-ball six when CSK needed five runs off the last ball to take his side home. Magala can also play the same role.
Image Courtesy: Sports Tiger
According to reports, South African players taking part in the upcoming ODI series against the Netherlands will miss some matches of IPL due to late arrival. Magala who was recently given a central contract by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and is also involved in the ongoing series against Westindies is likely to be included in the ODI series versus the Netherlands which will mean that he may join the CSK camp late.
The late joining of Magala might affect the balance of CSK as a team considering the role, he has been picked to play for four-time IPL champions
