IPL 2020: Dwayne Bravo to miss couple of matches, confirms Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings’ head coach Stephen Fleming has confirmed that all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is likely to miss a couple of matches in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). On Saturday, September 19, Bravo didn’t feature in CSK’s opener against Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The Super Kings went on to win the game by five wickets with four balls to spare. As far as Bravo is concerned, he last played for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the final of the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). But in that game at the Brian Lara Stadium, he didn’t bowl because of a knee injury.

For Saturday’s match in Abu Dhabi, CSK picked Sam Curran as Bravo’s alternative. “Dwayne Bravo is out for a couple of games,” Fleming was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

Curran didn’t disappoint by any means. He picked up the crucial wicket of Quinton de Kock, who was looking ominous after scoring 33 off 20 balls with five fours, in the powerplay. Thereafter, he smashed 18 off 6 balls when CSK needed someone to take them over the line in the run-chase. In his cameo, the left-hander hit one four and two sixes.

Fleming, also a former New Zealand cricketer, lauded the England youngster as well. “Curran’s performance was terrific,” he stated. It was also Curran’s first game for the Yellow Army after he made his IPL debut in 2019 for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

Stephen Fleming praises Ambati Rayudu

Fleming didn’t forget to appreciate Ambati Rayudu, who turned up with a 48-ball 71 at a stage when CSK were in dire straits, losing two early wickets. “Rayudu has been nothing short of fantastic. He has been pretty emotional and played a great knock,” Fleming added.

Rayudu put on 115 runs for the third wicket with Faf du Plessis and got CSK back into contention for a victory. In the end, he got out to leg-spinner Rahul, Chahar. The Super Kings, led by MS Dhoni, are next set to play the Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, September 22 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.