3 reasons why Mustafizur Rahman's return is a big boost to CSK for IPL 2024

Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) early momentum has been neutralized by back-to-back defeats away from home. The defending champions looked far from their best in their recent outings against the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Although CSK return to the Chepauk, they face a huge challenge in the form of the rampant Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who have made a perfect start to the tournament so far. The Shreyas Iyer-led side have won three games on the trot, and recorded a win at the challenging venue for visitors during the 2023 edition as well.

CSK were without the services of Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana in their defeat to SRH in Hyderabad. The Bangladesh veteran left-arm seamer was unavailable as he had to travel back home to complete his US visa formalities for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Although he was touted to miss a couple of matches, Mustafizur is set for a return in the upcoming clash against KKR, if reports are to be believed. CSK will welcome the pacer with open arms, especially with Matheesha Pathirana having not recovered from his injury.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why Mustafizur Rahman's return is a big boost for CSK in IPL 2024.

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#1 Matheesha Pathirana is injury prone

CSK's chief bowler in the latter half of the innings is unquestionably Matheesha Pathirana. However, the very traits that make him different are also the causes of his recurring injury issues.

He missed the season opener due to injury, and then suffered another niggle just after two appearances. It is evident through the pacer's short career that one cannot expect him to play all of the 14 league games on the trot.

This might be one of the reasons why CSK roped in Mustafizur Rahman, one of the very few death bowling options available on the market. For a price of ₹2 crore, it looked like a bargain during the auction, and it certainly does after the first set of matches.

The conditions in Chepauk suit his style of bowling, and he can definitely fill in for Pathirana whenever required over the course of the season.

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#2 Brings variety and experience to the bowling attack

CSK's pace bowling unit is rather one-dimensional without the overseas names, just as it was on show during the contest against SRH. Mukesh Choudhary does bring in a little bit of variety being a left-arm pacer, but he had a forgettable outing after conceding 27 runs in one over.

Deepak Chahar's reliance on swing coupled with Tushar Deshpande's horrid start to the season means that CSK need their third pacer to step up, which is where Mustafizur Rahman can step in.

He brings variety and experience with him together, something that CSK desperately need, given their current predicament. He has been the sole bowler to have had any sort of impact for CSK, as the spinners are also not having a command over the game like they used to in the past.

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#3 Can bowl across all phases of the innings

One of the main takeaways from Rahman's brilliant match-winning four-fer in the season opener against RCB was the fact that he was prolific across all phases of the innings.

He delivered the crucial opening breakthrough on the powerplay, struck again in the middle overs, and then finished well in the death overs as well. With Chahar primarily a powerplay bowler, and the other bowlers also generally being most effective across one or two phases in the game, Mustafizur comes across as a reliable option for the skipper to be introduced into the attack at any time and make an impact.

Cutters and slower bouncers have already become the go-to deliveries for pacers, especially in the middle and death overs. There might only be a few better exponents of those deliveries than Mustafizur Rahman, which augurs perfectly for CSK as they are looking for an impact in that particular phase with the spinners not being effective.

CSK will lock horns against KKR on Monday, April 8, at MA Chidambaram Stadium.