Chennai Super Kings' pre-season camp got underway here on Saturday in the presence of pacer Deepak Chahar, who will be eyeing a national comeback through a consistent run in the IPL beginning March 22.

The five-time IPL champions on Friday confirmed the arrival of the first batch of players, including Simarjeet Singh (pacer), Rajvardhan Hangargekar (all-rounder), Mukesh Choudhary (pacer), Prashant Solanki (spinner) and Ajay Mandal (all-rounder), besides Chahar.

The pacer has not played any form of cricket since last December when he pulled out of the T20I series against Australia midway before skipping the tour of South Africa due to his father's illness.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's arrival is yet to be confirmed. He is expected to be in Chennai in the next couple of days.

The defending champions play the IPL 2024 opener versus RCB here.

Steyn takes a break

Former New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin will replace Dale Steyn as Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach in IPL 2024. Steyn has pulled out for personal reasons.