Defending champions Chennai Super Kings have suffered a massive blow ahead of the 2022 IPL, as their premier pacer, Deepak Chahar will miss the majority, if not the entirety of the tournament, after Chahar tore his quadricep in the West Indies series while on national duty.
Reports have suggested that Chahar’s torn quadricep that took him out of action during the West Indies series, will take several weeks to heal, which effectively puts him out of action for a major chunk of the marquee tournament, which will take place between March 26 and May 29.
Chahar is currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and it is understood that the Chennai Super Kings will await the report from the NCA regarding Chahar’s situation, before taking a call on exploring other options. The injury will affect the Super Kings in a major way, especially after they bought the 29-year-old pacer for a whopping Rs.14 Crore, which can only mean that he was an integral part of their plans. Chahar was the second-most expensive player at the 2022 IPL Mega Auction, only behind Ishan Kishan, who was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for Rs. 15.25 Crore.
WIth Chahar’s new-found success as a bowling all-rounder, he was a fiercely contested commodity at the auction, eventually ending up at his former franchise. Chahar, who revealed that he had worked extensively on his batting upon the advice of maverick captain MS Dhoni, has been having a more than decent run in ODIs as a batsman, scoring 69*, 54, and 38 in his last three ODI outings.
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals went after Chahar in the auction, with the likes of Rajasthan also making a few bids at a later stage. The Chennai Super Kings made their eventual entry at the Rs.11 Crore mark, and secured Chahar’s services for a whopping Rs.14 Crore, making it the first time that the serial winners ever paid more than Rs.10 Crore for a player at any auction, after losing out on Glenn Maxwell in 2021, who ended up at RCB. Chahar was not retained by the CSK ahead of the auctions, but the Super Kings made it adequately clear that they were going to try and build back their previous side, buying back Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, and eventually Deepak Chahar.
Chahar made his IPL debut under MS Dhoni himself, first appearing for the Rising Pune Supergiants back in 2016, after being purchased for Rs. 10 Lakh. He was then picked up by the Super Kings in the 2018 Mega Auction for Rs. 80 Lakh, and has been their highest wicket-taker since, scalping 58 wickets in 58 games across four seasons.
The Super Kings, with the intention of getting acclimatised to the conditions of Mumbai and Pune, have set up a training camp in Surat, which is on the border between Gujarat and Maharashtra. CEO Kasi Viswanathan also informed the press that the camp would commence on March 8, after all the players complete a five-day quarantine. The Super Kings, with MS Dhoni, the support staff, and coaching assistant Lakshmipathy Balaji, have all arrived at Surat. Viswanathan also said that the overseas coaching staff, including head coach Stephen Fleming, would arrive on March 12. He also added that the entire team would travel to Mumbai by road on March 20.
“With the Chennai pitch clay-based we decided to practise on wickets that will be similar to those in Mumbai and Pune. Also the travel will be easy,”
Viswanathan was quoted as saying.
Although the dates of the tournament have been finalised, the BCCI has not released the schedule of the event. Being the winners of the previous edition, the Chennai Super Kings will be playing the inaugural game to kick off the tournament.
