IPL 2024: Injured, Unavailable, And Replacement Players For All 10 Teams

As the IPL (Indian Premier League) is approaching, the teams are in the process of finalising their squads among the difficulties that are posed by injuries, along with player unavailability. This year particularly, many of the key players across various teams have been sidelined due to a number of varied reasons, which ultimately affect the team’s composition and their strategic move leading into the tournament. 

Here is a comprehensive look at the injured and unavailable categories for all the 10 teams that are heading into the IPL 2024. 

KKR - Kolkata Knight Riders 

It is facing the challenge of management without Gus Atkison, who happens to be currently unavailable due to workload management. The team has then roped in Dushmantha Chameera as Atkinson’s replacement. This Shri Lankan pacer was with Lucknow Supergiants until the last season and was released ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, where he went unsold. 

In addition, England’s wicketkeeper batter Phil Salt has joined KKR in place of Jason Roy, who had pulled out of the season due to personal reasons. Salt went unsold in the IPL 2024 auction but has been observed to be in stellar batting form in recent times, scoring about 2 whole centuries against WI (West Indies).

LSG - Lucknow Super Giants 

For the LSG team, Mark Wood is unavailable due to workload management, which has led to the inclusion of the WI’s pace sensation Shamar Joseph as his replacement. Joseph then announced himself on the international stage with a sensational bowling performance in the test series against Australia. Although he is yet to be featured in the top-tier T20 leagues, the actual talent and potential are there to be seen. 

GT - Gujarat Titans 

GT will be missing out on the services of Mohammed Shami, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury. That’s a super big blow to their new ball attack and the player who is going to replace him is yet to be announced. 

The star spinner of the team, Rashid Khan, is also on the list of injuries, which is potentially going to affect his availability at the season’s start. But there’s more; there is another talented Afghan spinner, (Noor Ahmad, in their ranks, who can fill the void that Rashid Khan leaves until he is physically fit enough to be back in the game. 

CSK - Chennai Super Kings 

Devon Conway is currently out due to a thumb injury. He was one of the best performers for CSK in the last season and scored runs that were consistently at the top of the order. The player who is going to replace him is yet to be announced. 

The lead overseas pacer, Matheesha Pathirana, has also been dealing with a hamstring injury, which further adds to CSK’s injury woes. 

DC - Delhi Capitals

The concerns of DC include Rishab Pant, who is doubtful to be there for the season’s start as he is yet to fully regain his fitness after the horrifying car crash he encountered last year. 

Nothing can be commented upon whether Pant will lead DC this season, but the head coach Ricky Ponting has confirmed that they will be using him in some spasticity at least which implies that he may play as an impact player. DC was also worried about the fitness of David Warner, but it appears that he is going to be physically fit enough for the first game of the season, 

MI - Mumbai Indians

Suryakumar Yadav is expected to miss the start of the season due to his recovery from the sports hernia surgery which he underwent recently. The skipper, Hardik Pandya, is also nursing an ankle injury, which is likely to be available from the start. 

RCB - Royal Challengers Bangalore 

In the initial times, it was thought that RCB would have to manage with Reece Topley due to the workload management rules that the ECB has set, but he has been pulled out from the PSL, and now it looks like he is expected to be available from the season’s start. 

Rajat Patidar also underwent an ankle injury during the recently concluded test series, which was held between India and England. As such, there has not been any update on the injury since then, and therefore, it is not certain how long he is going to be out. At present, he might miss out on the first couple of game rounds. 

PBKS - Punjab Kings 

Punjab Kings, as such, are not dealing with any injury cases at present, but they have three England players, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, and Sam Curran, on their roster. With England, who is pulling out players to manage their workload for the upcoming T20 World Cup, it will not be a surprise if they are unavailable for the latter part of the IPL. 

The injuries, along with the unavailability of the players, have necessitated several replacements across the teams, which is bound to impact the composition and the potential strategic moves for the upcoming season. Teams are very much adapting to the dynamic environmental changes, with the replacements stepping in to fill the gaps that the key players have left.

As the tournament is drawing closer, the prime focus is going to be on how these adjustments are going to affect the team’s performances and whether the newcomers will seize the opportunity in order to make a significant impact in the IPL 2024 season.