Deepak Chahar, the Incredible Seamer is likely to miss the remaining two games due to a twisted ankle sustained during a training session before the first ODI against South Africa in Lucknow. Just a fortnight before their opening game against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, India suffered another injury blow.
Deepak Chahar wasn’t a part of the Indian playing XI as Shikhar Dhawan’s side lost by nine runs in the opening match with the visitors scoring 250 in just 40 overs. The Seamer was promptly flown to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where the Indian cricket board’s medical team will assess the extent of his injury, whether it is serious or not, and whether he could join the team or not in Australia later.
A Source stated, “We will soon get an update on Chahar. He had back pain on eve of the game and was not comfortable at all. The team management decided to send him to NCA where further scans will be conducted. Primarily, it looks like a back and hip injury.”
Deepak Chahar And His Unfortunate Injuries
The back injury would be specially monitored as he had injured the area during this year’s IPL and missed four months of cricket, unfortunately at a time when his stocks were climbing. The late injury meant that he did not travel with the India team to Perth, where they would play two warm-up games against New Zealand (Oct 17) and Australia (Oct 18).
A source claimed, “Deepak has sustained a twisted ankle but it’s not too serious. However, a few days of rest might be advisable,”. He further added, “So it will be team management’s call if they would like to risk Deepak as he is on T20 World Cup stand-by list. In any case, if there is a requirement there, it would be a priority.” As of now, Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in the T20 World Cup squad is Mohammed Shami, who is slowly and surely getting match-fit and is expected to fly to Australia within the next three to four days.
Having already lost Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, two valuable assets, to injuries, they could ill afford to lose another fast bowler to an injury. And the injuries have coincided at the worst possible time for Chahar, as Bumrah’s replacement was to be named in two days, October 9 being the cut-off date to confirm the squad.
Also Read: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022: Jasprit Bumrah Officially Ruled Out Of The World Cup