With opener Devon Conway expected to miss at least the first half of the forthcoming season, the Chennai Super Kings have suffered a major setback ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League.
The left thumb that the New Zealand batter injured during the recent Twenty20 International series against Australia is scheduled to be operated on.
Conway will require at least eight weeks to recover, according to a statement made by New Zealand cricket before of the second Test match against Australia. This implies that he will undoubtedly miss the opening game of the IPL 2024 season on March 22 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
"BLACKCAPS opener Devon Conway will this week undergo surgery on the left thumb he damaged during the KFC T20I series against Australia."
"Following several scans and specialist advice, the decision was made to operate on Conway with a likely recovery period of at least eight weeks," stated the statement.
How important was Devon Conway to CSK during the previous IPL season?
Conway had a rough start to life at CSK, but in the 2023 season, under MS Dhoni's leadership, he rapidly established himself as an important player. At the top of the order, the New Zealand batsman established a strong partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad, helping CSK amass 672 runs at an average of 51.69 last season.
Conway's strike rate of 139.71 allowed him to score six fifties in the 16 games he participated in.
In the rain-affected final, the opener also hit a vital 47 off 25 balls, helping CSK defeat the Gujarat Titans and claim their fifth IPL championship.
The opening round of the IPL 2024 season will feature four games for CSK, including the season-opening matchup against RCB in Chennai.
After the game on March 22, CSK will play GT in Chepauk four days later, and on March 31, they will play the Delhi Capitals in Vizag.
They travel to Hyderabad to play SRH to complete phase one.
How many games Conway will miss in the forthcoming season is yet unknown as the remaining matchups are still unknown.
