Chennai Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of IPL 2022. The bowler has sustained a back injury and he won’t be able to recover in time for the ongoing 15th edition of the tournament.
It is worth noting that the right-arm swing bowler sustained the back injury at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, where he was undergoing rehab after a quadricep tear he picked during India's T20I series against West Indies in February.
This comes as a big blow for Chahar’s IPL franchise CSK, who are already suffering to find balance in their team in the absence of the bowler, who can also be handy with the bat by playing big shots down the order. CSK had paid a mammoth sum of INR 14 crores for the player at IPL auction 2022.
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Chahar’s Permanent Absence Piles Misery On CSK
Chahar-less CSK have lost all four of their starting matches in IPL 2022 they have played so far. The team sits at the bottom of the table with zero points and a net run rate of -1.211.
Chahar has been CSK’s first-choice bowler for the new ball. His swing not only helps him get wickets but his tight line and length also choke the batsmen for runs. This is the reason Chahar’s economy while bowling for CSK in the first powerplay is 7.61 across 58 innings. Meanwhile, he has also picked 42 wickets during the phase.
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On the other hand, CSK have managed to get just two wickets in the 24 overs they have bolwed in the powerplay in the absence of Chahar. Additionally, they conceded at an economy rate of 8.62 in the first six overs in IPL 2022 so far.
Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary, who made his IPL debut for CSK this year in the absence of Chahar, has leaked runs at an economy of over 10 and got just two wickets in the three games he played for the side. Another domestic fast bowler, Tushar Deshpande, too has conceded at an economy of 9 and picked just one wicket in the two games he played for the side so far. To add to CSK’s woes, Dwayne Bravo - one of their most reliable overseas bowlers – has also blown hot and cold in IPL 2022.
In the batting department too, CSK have been below average. Barring the second game in which they scored over 200 runs and lost to Lucknow Super Giants, their average innings total is 137. One of the main reasons of their poor batting is the failure of Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top order. The opener, who was the leading run scorer in IPL 2021, has returned scores of 0, 1, 1 and 16 so far.
Four-time champions CSK, who are being led by new captain Ravindra Jadeja this year, need to find a way to solve their problems soon, otherwise their slim chances of qualifying for the IPL 2022 playoffs will be over. They face Royal Challengers Bangalore next on Tuesday night at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai.
