IPL
Gaikwad rues unavailability of Mustafizur, Pathirana during IPL
|| CF DESK ||
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad expressed disappointment about the injury problems throughout the tournament after their defeat against RCB.
RCB beat CSK by 28 runs on Saturday to seal the last spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs berth as CSK ended their season with seven wins in 14 encounters.
CSK missed Devon Conway at the start of the season, Matheesha Pathirana joined later but got injured and left the tournament in the mid-way and Mustafizur Rahman had to leave due to national commitment.
Following their departure, CSK suffered a huge blow as their absence led to instability in their bowling line-up in the last couple of matches.
"To sum up the season, pretty happy with seven games out of 14. Injuries, not having Conway as well -- made a lot of difference. Challenges right from the first game. Pathirana got injured, we missed Fizz [Mustafizur] as well. When you have injuries, it is difficult to balance the squad," Gaikwad said.
"Couldn't get over the line, but these things can happen. For me, personal milestones don't matter a lot. After all, the ultimate prize is to win. We couldn't get it, so personally I'm slightly disappointed as well," he added.