IPL 2013: Albie Morkel's recovery time is pretty slow, says Steve Rixon

Albie Morkel is likely to miss his third straight game in the ongoing Indian Premier League as the recovery process of the injured Chennai Super Kings speedster from South Africa is "pretty slow", according to fielding coach Steve Rixon.

"He is getting better by the day. The recovery time is pretty slow at the moment. We have a couple of days for the next match. If not the next game, probably the game after," Rixon said after CSK's win over Sunrisers Hyderabad here last night.

Since turning out for the match against Delhi Daredevils, Morkel has missed the games against Rajasthan Royals and Hyderabad.

Rixon said wicketkeepers taking off the right-hand gloves in the last over -- CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni does that regularly these day -- is an award-winning exercise.

"...Very innovative and that is an award-winning exercise. It is something that most wicketkeepers are doing around the world in 20-20 version. It is because when batsmen take a run, it is quite difficult to throw the ball with the gloves on. It is making some sense."

Talking about getting the combination right and bowling in the death overs, he said, "Now we have many options and are trying to execute them. It has not been done effectively enough yet. We are still looking for the right combinations. Therefore, we will continue to give opportunities to different people.

"We have the ability at the death with someone to bowl at 140 and bowl yorkers and bouncers."

Asked about the 44 dot balls while chasing 160," he said, "I have to say that it was unusual. However, it was not quite easy as was it was made to look like by Dhoni and (Dwayne) Bravo and a couple of other batsmen. It was a little slow.

"When the pace of the ball is taken it becomes quite difficult. When you walk out and someone is turning the ball it makes it very hard. That was a unique situation and does not happen very often."

Talking further about Chennai's batting, Rixon said, "To me the batting has to be done between one and five. Dhoni was there at the crucial time. However, the loss of Bravo and Jadeja put us under a bit of pressure.

"But (Chris) Morris and Jason (Holder) are very good strikers of the ball and you had Ashwin sitting in the stands as well. So, there were still plenty of batting to go. When Dhoni is there and getting eight or ten an over, it is always going to be a cakewalk."

About Chennai's impressive show on the field, especially by Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina who took two stunning catches, Rixon said, "We played extremely well in the field in Delhi and we played a perfect game in Kolkata. It was very good... very cool last game.

"Today, the boys came out with the intensity and attitude and immediately made it obvious with those two dismissals. Obviously, it is non-negotiable in this game because fielding is such an important part of cricket."