Chennai Super Kings have handed the debut cap to youngster Dewald Brevis against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing IPL 2025. Rachin Ravindra and R Ashwin have been dropped while Sam Curran and Deepak Hooda have been named in the playing XI.
Chennai Super Kings have made bold decisions of dropping Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin and Vijay Shankar from the playing XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 25. The MS Dhoni-led side handed a debut cap to youngster Dewald Brevis, who was signed in place of injured Gurjapneet Singh. Meanwhile, Sam Curran has made his return to the playing XI, while Deepak Hooda has replaced Vijay Shankar.
Meanwhile, Ashwin has been named in the Impact Player list. It’s unclear whether the cricketer will be featuring in the second innings, given that the veteran can be very instrumental if the ball turns. However, since he is a far superior batter in comparison to Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana, the veteran spinner could have featured in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, SRH won the toss and elected to bowl first in Chennai. They have made one change, as Mohammed Shami is back in the playing XI. Travis Head has been named in the impact player list, but is expected to open with Abhishek Sharma in the second innings.
“We gonna have a bowl first. Chennai is always a big game, coming off a couple of loses but it is a new venue and boys are up for it. If the wicket is good, backing them to get a big total and otherwise also, backing them to do well. The pitch looks a little bit dry,” Pat Cummins said after the toss.
Meanwhile, Dhoni explained that he would have opted to bowl first as well. He noted that the dew can play a part in the second innings.
“Dew was the main reason why we also wanted to bowl first. Almost in all the departments when you are not playing good cricket, chances are there will be pressure on the other guys as well. We want to get the process right and that is what we are looking to aim for the rest of the games. We are looking at one game at a time and we are looking at few combinations and have confidence in your ability and execute what you want to. We are not too sure how the wicket is,” Dhoni said.
Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Mohammed Shami
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (wk/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
