INJURY CONCERNS

First came the news about Rajasthan Royals losing out the services of their two key overseas players - Greame Smith and Dmitri Mascarenhas - due to different injuries. And now comes the big news that MS Dhoni could be sidelined for 10 days due to an elbow injury.

Both Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings (despite their win last night) have had a rusty start to the tournament. RR, now without its openers (Smith - batting and Mascarenhas - bowling), look dead and buried. They will need to find some decent replacements... and find them early. They might well be thinking now that they should not have bought out the contract of Mohammed Kaif.

Chennai Super Kings, after their first victory of this year's IPL last night, looked good to get their campaign back on track after a defeat in the first game to the defending champions. However, if their captain is ruled out, it could set them back a long way. Early reports are suggesting that Suresh Raina will be given the mantle of captaincy for the 4 games that MSD is supposed to be ruled out for:

1. v Delhi Daredevils at Ferozeshah Kotla, New Delhi on March 19
2. v Kings XI Punjab at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on March 21
3. v Royal Challengers Bangalore at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on March 23
4. v Mumbai Indians at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on March 25

The injuries to two international captains (Smith and Dhoni) will surely raise concerns in these two camps, especially with the World Twenty20 Championship scheduled to start in the opposite part of the world just 5 days after the IPL ends.