Defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Chennai Super Kings have been handed a blow with all-rounder Dwayne Bravo set to be sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring injury.

Bravo had picked up the injury during Chennai’s 37-run loss against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium. Chennai’s squad has already been wearing a depleted look with Lungi Ngidi ruled out of the tournament earlier with knee injury while England all-rounder David Willey pulled out due to family reasons.

The franchise had named pacer Scott Kuggeleijn as a replacement for the injured Ngidi and batting coach Michael Hussey believes that the Kiwi can fill the void left by Bravo’s absence as well.

“Obviously, he (Bravo) offers so much balance to the team and he’s a quality player, so it’s going to cause a little bit of rejigging of the team,” Hussey said on the eve of Chennai’s clash with Kings XI Punjab.

“But, I’m sure we will still be able to put together a very strong team and yes it’s a big loss for us, but we have had these challenges in the past and we’ve been able to overcome them. We’re hoping we can do that again.

“Yes, definitely [Scott Kuggeleijn can fill the void]. I’m sure MS (Dhoni) and (Stephen) Fleming will look at Scott and assess his death-bowling skills.”

MS Dhoni and his men are due to take on Kings XI Punjab at the Chepauk stadium in the first game of Saturday’s double-header in IPL 2019. Chennai started the season with three wins on the bounce with the defeat against Mumbai in their most recent clash being the first of their campaign.

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