IPL 2023: Why did Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes miss MI-CSK clash?

The 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 saw one of the most anticipated clashes of the tournament as Chennai Super Kings took on the five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 8.

The heavyweight clash featured a plethora of big names. However, despite the big names in the lineup, there were several names in the squad who missed the fiery battle. One such name was English star Jofra Archer, who missed due to discomfort in his right elbow right after the side’s first game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. During the toss, Rohit Sharma said that Archer had an injury (referring to Archer), but he later corrected himself, saying, "Not an injury, actually. More of a precaution."

Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes miss out as well

Chennai Super Kings had two other high-profile players missing as English all-rounders Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes sat out. Stokes did opine that he bowled pain-free when Chennai beat Lucknow Super Giants, but he had a sore heel after training, which forced him out of the game. On the other hand, Moeen missed the game due to being unwell.

Despite two high-profile names missing the game against Mumbai, the MS Dhoni-led side put in a fabulous performance. Batting first, Mumbai Indians crumbled due to Chennai's relentless bowling attack. Through decent knocks by the middle order, the hosts managed to post 157 runs on the board for Chennai to chase. Coming in to bat, Ajinkya Rahane put in an excellent performance as Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians to grab their second win of the IPL 2023.

CSK had another scare in the game as their premium pacer Deepak Chahar left the field after bowling just one over. However, they still managed to restrict MI to a manageable total. 

"It feels good, we lost Deepak [Chahar] in our first over. [Sisanda] Magala it was the first game. Was a bit of an issue to shuffle the bowler. But the spinners bowled really well. It was not turning much after the first six overs. It w as bit two-paced after that. The spinners were able to use that well later. Magala came back well, Pretorius was so good. It was a good bowling effort, despite losing our premier bowler," skipper Dhoni said after the victory.