Why is MS Dhoni not playing today vs Sunrisers Hyderabad?

Why is MS Dhoni not playing today: Chennai Super Kings captain has been rested for the 33rd match of IPL 2019 vs SRH.

During the 33rd match of the ongoing 12th season of the Indian Premier League between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings at Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has not been included in the Playing XI.

Dhoni had complained of back spasm while batting in CSK’s previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders. While he confirmed in the post-match presentation that his back should be well soon, him not playing tonight seems more of a precautionary measure.

Vice-captain and senior batsman Suresh Raina will lead the side in Dhoni’s absence. After winning the toss, Raina opted to bat first. “We are going to bat first. I think batting first is a good option on this wicket. I think we need to be good in the powerplay. It’s all about executing our plans,” Raina was quoted as saying.

Being asked about the legendary cricketer not playing tonight, Raina said, “Dhoni wanted to take some rest, he’ll be back in the next game.”

The exclusion of Dhoni forced the visitors to make two forced changes. “Karn Sharma comes in the side in place of Santner and as Dhoni is not playing, Sam Billings comes in for him,” Raina talked about the changes. It is worth mentioning that both Sharma and Billings will be playing their first IPL 2019 match tonight.

Talking of changes for Sunrisers Hyderabad, their captain Kane Williamson announced that veteran batsman Yusuf Pathan and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem have been included into the squad in place of Ricky Bhui and Abhishek Sharma.

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