Manish Pandey IPL 2021: Why is Imran Tahir not playing today’s IPL 2021 match against SRH?

Imran Tahir not playing: The veteran leg-spinner from Chennai Super Kings hasn’t been included in their Playing XI for this match.

During the 23rd match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner has won the toss and chose to bat.

“We will bat first. It’s a different surface to what was expected in Delhi. But it’s not going to change much through the course of the game. We are just looking at the attitude in tough situations. We just want to stay relaxed and come out with clear minds. It’s about experience for us,” Warner told Star Sports at the toss.

At the bottom of the points table, Sunrisers have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI by including batsman Manish Pandey and seamer Sandeep Sharma for batsman Virat Singh and all-rounder Abhishek Sharma. Having compromised a bit on the batting front, Hyderabad have strengthened their bowling lineup which now comprises of varying options.

🧡😁💛#CSKvSRH #OrangeOrNothing #OrangeArmy #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/xQvY26lOdo

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 28, 2021

Why is Imran Tahir not playing vs SRH?

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unperturbed by being asked to bowl first. The development means that Super Kings will have to bat under dew, if any.

“We were looking to bowl first. Looks a bit tacky and the boys who practiced yesterday said there was quite a bit of dew. We prefer to chase if there is a chance of dew. Bowling with the wet ball or bowling in conditions where there is not much help is the area we would want to improve. We were slow in the first game but we picked up pace,” Dhoni told Star Sports at the toss.

Much like SRH, CSK have also made a couple of changes to their Playing XI as all-rounder Moeen Ali and Lungi Ngidi come in for all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and spinner Imran Tahir.

While Dhoni wasn’t asked about the reason behind these changes, one believes they have been done as a match-up thing especially for playing against Hyderabad.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Read More