Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has picked nominated Murali Vijay to replace Suresh Raina in his absence and has backed the Chennai Super Kings to make it to the playoffs despite the various hurdles the franchise has encountered till now. He also added that this is a great opportunity for Vijay in Raina’s absence.

“See, in my opinion, it’s a good opportunity for Vijay. He is determined. Whenever we met, he says he has been practising well and looking for opportunities to do well” Srikkanth said.

Also Read: CSK Rubbishes Reports Of Dawid Malan Replacing Suresh Raina

Srikkanth further said that Vijay can open the innings for CSK with Shane Watson and use the season to redeem his IPL career.

“Don’t forget, Vijay is a big-match player, he can open with Shane Watson. It’s a great opportunity for him to redeem himself in the IPL. He has led sides like KXIP. Having played at that level, he would be keen to redeem himself,” he added while speaking on his YouTube show Cheeky Cheeka.

Concerns for CSK Ahead of IPL 2020

Meanwhile, CSK has had a few concerns even before the season started. They have had 13 members of their squad test COVID-19 positive including two players Deepak Chahar and Rituraj Gaekwad. Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have opted to pull out of the season due to personal reasons.

Raina’s absence has been making the franchise think of options to fill in his spot at number three. Vijay, Faf Du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu are some of the options considered.

Also Read: IPL 2020: 3 Players Who Can Replace Harbhajan Singh

Meanwhile, the IPL 2020 will be starting in exactly a week from now with Chennai Super Kings facing Mumbai Indians in the season opener. The afternoon matches are set to begin at 3:30 PM IST while the evening games will commence at 7:30 PM IST. In all, 24 matches will be held in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi and 12 in Sharjah, while the venues for playoffs will be announced later.