Rivals look to rise above the injuries

New Delhi: Both Delhi DareDevils and the Chennai Super Kings will be without their regular captains when the two teams meet in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Kotla on Friday.

The Super Kings had lost the their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he injured his elbow during the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. On Wednesday, DareDevils captain Gautam Gambhir had a similar fate when he suffered a hamstring injury in the match against the Mumbai Indians.

DareDevils assistant coach Eric Simons made it clear that Gambhir would not play against the Super Kings on Friday. “He is going for a scan to see how bad it is,” said Simons.

“Once we assess him, we will know how long he will be out for. It’s reasonably serious and he won’t play tomorrow (Friday),” Simons said after the practice session.

Dinesh Karthik, who led the DareDevils for most part of the match against the Mumbai Indians, will continue to lead the side while Suresh Raina will be the Super Kings captain.

“I had a chat with Dhoni and he told me to keep things simple and play my natural game. I would do just that,” Raina said.

“We are going to miss Dhoni, no doubt about that. But when someone gives 100 per cent, there always are chances of injury and that’s how he got injured against Knight Riders,” added the stand-in skipper.

Hosts DareDevils would definitely go all out for victory, specially after their heavy defeat against the Mumbai Indians at home. That was DareDevils’ first loss after back to back wins over Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals.

The Super Kings have played two matches so far. They lost to the Deccan Chargers but registered an emphatic win over the Knight Riders in the away match.

Gambhir’s place in the team is likely to be taken by Rajat Bhatia, an utility cricketer in the Ranji Trophy circle. “I have not played yet but I should be able to prove myself,” said Bhatia. “I had a good domestic season,” he said.

Dhoni's absence has opened the door for Parthiv Patel, and Raina said the diminutive wicket-keeper would open the innings against the DareDevils.