Chennai Super Kings suffered an injury blow on Thursday, just 24 hours before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 16 as left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary got ruled out of the entire tournament.
The 26-year-old is yet to fully recover from a stress fracture and therefore, will miss IPL 2023.
Choudhary, who was the leading wicket-taker for Maharashtra in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22, impressed with his skills with the white ball after being bought by the franchise at his base price of 20 lakh.
Choudhary made his debut in the IPL last year with CSK, and played all 13 league games. He picked up 16 wickets at a decent average of 26.50 and a strike rate of just over 17.
The four-time champions meanwhile, named left-arm pacer Akash Singh as the replacement for Choudhary in IPL 2023.
Akash Singh, who was a part of India’s Under-19 World Cup team in 2020, previously played for the Rajasthan Royals. He featured in just one match for RR in 2021 and went wicketless from his four overs.
"The left-arm pacer has thus far played 9 T20s in addition to 9 List A matches and five First-Class games and has 31 wickets against his name. He joins CSK for INR 20 Lakh," the IPL statement read.
CSK look to bounce back in Dhoni's final season
MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings will look to turn their fortunes around this year after enduring their worst season in IPL 2022 when they failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in the league's history.
This could be Dhoni's last season with the CSK, a team where he delivered four IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021.
CSK will open their campaign in the first match of the IPL 2023 against defending champions Gujarat Titans, led by Hardik Pandya, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, March 31.
