New Delhi : England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who is recovering from a knee surgery, has been ruled out of the Chennai Super Kings squad for the Champions League T20 cricket tournament beginning Sep 10 in South Africa.

The Chennai franchise announced its 15-member squad for the event Wednesday. Flintoff had been ruled out for his county Lancashire for the rest of the season. He already has undergone two knee surgeries and his doctors have advised him more rest if he wishes to extend his stint with England.

'Freddie will not play for us due to a prolonged injury. He is still recovering,' Chennai Super Kings director V.B. Chandrashekhar told reporters.

Asked about the timing of Champions League in the midst of an already packed international calendar, Chandrashekhar said club cricket is different from international cricket. 'But here the pressure will be less. Since the tournament is happening in South Africa, the players will get time to relax and enjoy the game.'

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led Chennai Super Kings to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) triumph earlier this year, will continue to captain the side. Left-hander Suresh Raina, a prolific scorer in IPL 3, is also part of the squad.

The team had earlier announced a 20-member squad for the Twenty20 extravaganza in the rainbow nation. The ones who could not make the cut in the final 15 are Parthiv Patel, Abhinav Mukund, Sudeep Tyagi and Sri Lanka's Thissara Perera.

'Thissara will be representing his home team Wayamba Elevens in the competition,' Chandrashekhar said. The foreign players who found a place in the squad are Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Thilan Thushara, Australia's Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger and Matthew Hayden, and Albie Morkel of South Africa.

Three IPL teams Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians will spearhead India' challenge out of the 10 teams due to take part in the multi- million dollar event.