Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has confirmed that fast bowlers Jason Behrendorff and Lungi Ngidi won’t be available for the next fixture against Punjab Kings.
Behrendorff was roped in as the replacement for the Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood who had opted out of the IPL 2021 to spend time with his family.
Ngidi is serving a mandatory seven-day quarantine and won’t be available for selection for the next game.
"Ngidi won't be available. He won't be arriving for the next game. So losing Josh Hazlewood, which was the plan to have him available for these games is a blow simply as an option up front. Ngidi will be arriving soon,” the former New Zealand captain said in the post-match press conference.
"Behrendorff would be following that. [Bowling] It's an area that we are probably short on. But we still look at the Indian bowlers and we have international bowler Sam Curran," Fleming added.
CSK had a forgettable start to the IPL 2021 campaign after Delhi Capitals defeated them by 7 wickets in the first match in Mumbai on Saturday.
The MS Dhoni-led side failed to defend a target of 189 runs as the DC went over the line with more than one over to spare. Openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan put up an opening stand of 138 runs.
Both the batsmen went on to score individual fifties to anchor the team to a win. CSK will lock horns with Punjab Kings on April 16 at the Wankhede Stadium.