Mumbai Indians opener Rohit Sharma has not played the last two matches for the team in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He sustained a hamstring injury while batting in the game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) last week and has remained on the sidelines since then. The suspense around his availability for the marquee clash today against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) remains, even as the team is likely to take a call on him before the toss.
However, going by the net session on the eve of the game, Rohit doesn't seem to have regained full fitness yet. The former MI captain started the training session with light jogs before he padded up for a hit. But according to ESPNCricinfo, Rohit only faced throwdowns - both right-arm and left-arm - and didn't go for too many big hits either during his 25-minute stint with the bat.
This clearly suggests that he is not yet fit to face the fast bowler in the nets and might have not recovered fully from his hamstring injury. In his absence, Danish Malewar is likely to be retained after the debutant failed to make an impact in the previous game.
MS Dhoni likely to return but whom will he replace?
On the other hand, even though there is no certainty yet, Dhoni's involvement in the training session was more compared to that of Rohit, which has raised expectations around his availability for the El Classico of IPL. He also did a few light jogs before padding up for a net session where he faced the likes of Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Aman Khan and Zak Foulkes for around 20 minutes. After a small break, the veteran also faced throwdowns before ending his evening.
Irrespective of Dhoni's return, CSK will have to make a change at the top of the order with their number three batter, Ayush Mhatre, getting ruled out of the rest of the season. Urvil Patel is likely to replace him but for Dhoni to play, the five-time champions might have to bench Sarfaraz Khan, even as the former could also play as an impact player.
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