With just two weeks to go before the upcoming IPL, defending champions Chennai Super Kings have to worry about another injury issue as pacer Matheesha Pathirana has picked up a 1 strain on her left leg. Grade hamstring strain. The Sri Lanka bowler ran into trouble during the second T20I against Bangladesh in Sylhet on March 6 and left the field without completing his tenure. “Matheesha Pathirana will not be available for the third T20I (Saturday) as the player suffered a grade 1 hamstring injury in the left leg,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.

Patialana bowled 3.4 overs in that match, taking two wickets while conceding 28 runs.

This IPL will begin on March 22, with CSK’s first match being against city rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

“Level 1 hamstrings usually take close to two weeks to fully recover. Therefore, it remains to be seen when Patialana will join the team and it is difficult to tell at this stage whether he will be able to play in the first few games,” an IPL source sources told PTI.

Pathirana played an important role in CSK’s title-winning campaign in the last IPL, taking 19 wickets in 12 matches.

CSK have lost opener Devon Conway as the New Zealand batsman has been ruled out for at least the first half of the league.

Conway suffered a thumb injury during the recent T20I series against Australia and missed the subsequent two Test series.

Conway is CSK’s leading run-getter in IPL 2023 with 672 runs at an average of nearly 52.