IPL 2025: Why is Nathan Ellis not in Starting XI in CSK vs RCB Match 8?

Nathan Ellis will not be featuring for Chennai Super Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 8 of the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, March 28.

Ellis did not quite have a particularly good outing against Mumbai Indians in their opener of IPL 2025 at the same venue. He conceded 38 runs during his four-over quota, picking up just the single wicket in CSK's four-wicket victory.

Toss Update

Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and opted to field first. He felt that the track would be better suited for the batters as compared to their previous game. He also emphasised on the point of being more lively on the field as well as more efficient while batting.

Why is Nathan Ellis not playing?

Matheesha Pathirana was said to have picked up an injury ahead of CSK's fixture against MI, which prompted Ellis to be his last-minute replacement in the Playing XI. While the other three bowlers who completed their spell were quite economical, Ellis could not quite find his rhythm. Pathirana has been preferred more often and has been one of their frontline pacers, especially in the past couple of seasons.

What did the captains say at the toss?

Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings)

"We are going to bowl first. I think it will play slightly better than the last game. So far there hasn't been any dew, we don't know when the dew will arrive and it is not in our control. There are areas; we were sitting behind in the field and would like to be more aggressive, batting wise we can be more clinical. We have just got one change - Pathirana comes back for Ellis."

Rajat Patidar (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

"We had decided to bowl first. It will not make much difference, the surface looks hard, we will try to put up a total and keep them under pressure. The boys did well in the last game. We have to be at our best in every game and we will try to do that today also. The bowling unit after 13 overs.. the way they came back was amazing to see, the intent shown by the batting side was good. It is one of the biggest games in the league because of the fans it makes it fun and exciting. One change - Bhuvi comes in for Rasikh."

Also Check: LIVE: IPL 2025, Match 8 – CSK vs RCB: Live Score, Commentary & More Updates

Playing 11s

Royal Challengers Bengaluru XI:

1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Tim David, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash Dayal

RCB Impact Players list: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh

Chennai Super Kings XI:

1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Sam Curran, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Khaleel Ahmed

CSK Impact Players list: Shivam Dube, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed