Chennai Super Kings bowling department has struck a huge blow before the match against RCB in Chennai at Chepauk Stadium. Csk won their opening encounter against Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets as it would have been a tricky chase if Rachin Ravindra hadn't been in the crease who finished the proceedings. In that very match Csk was missing their premium bowler Pathirana, who was ruled out in last year's IPL season due to a hamstring injury.

 It's been said that Pathirana is still in the recovery phase and may take time to recover, so he will be missing the second match against RCB which would be another exciting contest between these two teams.RCB would be using this advantage as they have not won in Chennai since the victory in 2008, its been 17 long years of wait which RCB try to rectify. 

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Pathirana Ruled Out At Last Year's IPL
Sri Lankan young bowler Pathirana was bought as a replacement player in 2022, whose death over bowling was quite impressive and soon he was an integral part of the team. He has taken 34 wickets at an average of 17.41. Till then Pathirana has been on player for the Csk franchise. He played a crucial role in the 2023 victory triumph which was his first IPL trophy too. Everything was going on w for him but last year he struck with a hamstring injury in mid of the season. 

Since that, he has been in the recovery phase despite his injury, and Csk has retained him for 13 crores. It has been said that Pathirana is in the final stage of his recovery and requires a medical clearance certificate from the SLC board then only he would be able to take part in the league. Already Pathirana had missed the first game against Mumbai Indians and it was clearly seen that Csk was badly missing Pathirana at the death overs, where Deepak Chahar bashed Csk bowlers at the end. 
Stephen Fleming On Pathirana Comeback
CSK is having an important match against RCB, where Pathirana services would have been much important but it has been stated by coach Stephen Fleming that Pathirana has been ruled out against RCB, as he is still recovering from his injury.  Fleming portrayed both team's achievement and their complexity with each other.

Things change quite quickly. The RCB from last year and the CSK from last year are quite different. We don't look at all into past performances. Certainly looking at their team, Kohli is a big part of it, but they've got other strengths as well. With playing conditions always a factor in any game, the CSK head coach admitted that adaptability will be key as the team navigates different pitches throughout the tournament. Each pitch plays differently and one should be ready for every challenge.