India, March 19 -- Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will kickstart IPL 2024, and will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener in Chennai on Friday. The MS Dhoni-led side will be without Ambati Rayudu this season, who announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket last year.

To fill in the void, CSK signed Sameer Rizvi for Rs.8.4 crore in the mini-auction in Dubai. Rizvi caught everyone's attention during the UPT20 league last year, where he clobbered 455 runs in 10 matches, at an average of over 50. During the tournament, he also clattered two tons and a fifty.

Ahead of IPL 2024, CSK batting coach Michael Hussey made a bombshell prediction on the 20-year-old's career, stating that he could play Rayudu's r...