CHENNAI: For the first time this season, Chennai Super Kings will be under pressure at home when they take on Delhi Capitals on Saturday afternoon.

Having lost their previous two games, the hosts’ think tank would have been burning the midnight oil to try and arrest the slide. The biggest concern for them would be the fitness of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. He got hit in the right forearm by Tushar Deshpande in the previous game against Rajasthan Royals. CSK batting coach Mike Hussey said that they would take a call on his inclusion after the training session on Friday. “Yeah, we’re hoping. He’s (Ruturaj) going to try and have a bat. It’s still a little bit sore, but it’s improving every day. So we’re very hopeful, very confident that he’ll be fine for Saturday. If not, we have some young guy (MS Dhoni) coming up, he’s doing really well behind the stumps,” said Hussey.

An hour or so after Hussey’s proclamation, Gaikwad did come out but didn’t have an elaborate session. He shadow-batted for a few minutes and took a couple of throwdowns but didn’t once go inside the nets.

Should he not play and Dhoni take his place, it will be the first time the former captain will lead the side since the 2023 final in Ahmedabad.

Meanwhile, Delhi come into the match with players like Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs and Jake Fraser-McGurk providing firepower. The sub plot is the mind games that Delhi will be keen to play with their coach Hemang Badani who hails from Chennai. Badani has won a couple international leagues and is a successful coach at the TNCA’s TNPL league.