The Chennai Super Kings suffered a major blow a few weeks back when their veteran player Suresh Raina pulled out of IPL 2020. Following that the franchise had hinted about not considering a replacement for Raina. However now with IPL just days away, few reports suggest that CSK are now interested to replace Raina with Dawid Malan for the upcoming IPL season.

The Englishmen is now the No.1 T20I batsmen in the world. Malan has been sensational in his T20 career so far for England as he averages close to 50 and also has a strike rate touching 140 in just 16 matches.

CSK Might Replace Suresh Raina With Dawid Malan

Meanwhile, CSK is now inspecting replacing Raina with Malan as he will be a suitable candidate with him also being a left-hander and has an experience of batting at number 3 spot. According to a source close to CSK, nothing has been finalised yet but the franchise sure is looking at Malan with him being an accomplished T20 batsman.

Also read: IPL 2020: Full Coverage

“These are just discussions, nothing has been finalized as such. Malan is a very accomplished T20 player. He is also a left-hander like Raina. But team management hasn’t taken any final call on whether to call for Raina’s replacement or not,” the CSK source told InsideSport on condition of anonymity.

Moreover, CSK can also wait for Raina to return to UAE for the forthcoming IPL edition and pick Malan as an overseas player if one of their foreign players miss IPL 2020 in the coming few days. Also, Malan also has experience of playing in the Big Bash League in Australia which is why CSK is interested in the batsman.

The Chennai Super Kings will face the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the season opener on September 19 at Abu Dhabi. The much anticipated season will take place in a bio-secure bubble across three venues in the United Arab Emirates.