Why are Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande not playing IPL 2024 Match 49 between CSK vs PBKS?

Punjab Kings took on Chennai Super Kings in Match 49 of the Indian Premier League 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 1. PBKS won the toss and opted to field. Sam Curran showed confidence in his team as he announced an unchanged eleven. 

The CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, however, announced that the hosts have made two changes in their XI as Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana sat out with a niggle while Tushar Deshpande was unwell for the game. It is worth noting that both Pathirana and Deshpande have been strike bowlers for CSK. The two were replaced by Shardul Thakur and debutant Richard Gleeson. 

“We'll bowl first. Looks like a good surface, new wicket and we're excited after that last match. An amazing stadium and an amazing crowd, we'll have to start well and take early wickets. We'll take the confidence from that chase of 261. It's just about fight and determination, they're a good team, but we need to be brave. Same team for us,” said Curran at the toss.

“We would have fielded first, but we weren't exactly sure. Always tough defending here with a lot of dew, but the fact that we won by 78 runs shows a lot about the team, but we'll be missing out Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande today. We'll have to get there early and make a good score. Every game is important. Pathirana has a slight niggle, Deshpande isn't well, so we've Shardul and Richard Gleeson makes his debut,” said Gaikwad.

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Richard Gleeson, Mustafizur Rahman.

Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Prashant Solanki

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran(c), Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia