Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will miss the services of mercurial pacer Deepak Chahar for a major chunk of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, which is due to start March 26. (More Cricket News)
Chahar, 29, suffered a quadricep muscle tear during India's third T20 International against West Indies on February 21 at Eden Gardens. The right-arm pacer left the field after bowling 11 deliveries.
Quad injuries, if they are minor to moderate, normally take one to three weeks to heal but the severe ones take months to completely heal and for athletes to achieve full match fitness.
According to ESPNCricinfo, CSK are awaiting a final assessment from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, where Chahar is currently undergoing his rehabilitation.
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Chahar, an established all-rounder, was one of the most demanded players at the IPL mega auction. CSK won the bidding war for INR 14 crore, which was the second-most expensive buy.
In his last three ODIs, Chahar scored 69 not out (against Sri Lanka), 54 (against South Africa) and 38 (against West Indies) besides taking wickets.
Chahar has been an integral part of MS Dhoni's CSK after he joined the 'Yellow Army' in 2018 for INR 80 lakhs. But he was released ahead of the mega auction.
Meanwhile, CSK will have their preparatory camp in Surat with training starting from March 8.
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Captain Dhoni along with the support staff including assistant coach Laxmipathy Balaji have already reached Surat on Wednesday.
CSK are expected to play the tournament opener in Mumbai. The IPL 2022 schedule will be out soon. The final is scheduled for May 29.
This season, IPL will have two virtual groups with the teams getting seeds according to their past performances. CSK are the second most successful side with four title wins.
