IPL 2022: Deepak Chahar suffers back injury to further dent chances of his CSK return

Deepak Chahar was already nursing a quadricep tear. He has suffered a fresh back injury that could potentially rule him out of IPL 2022 for Chennai Super Kings.

Image credit: BCCI

Indian pacer Deepak Chahar is going through a torrid phase. He suffered from a quadricep tear that delayed his stint with four-time defending champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. While he was recovering from the same, he has suffered a fresh back injury that has further dented his chances for the season.

Image credit: BCCI

According to ESPNCricinfo, Chahar recently injured his back while rehabbing at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. The injury's gravity is yet to be determined as CSK is yet to receive an official report from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He has been rehabbing at the NCA for over a month after suffering a quadricep tear during the Windies Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in February.

Image credit: BCCI

It was initially believed that although Chahar would miss the significant half of IPL 2022, CSK was optimistic about his return by April end, given that he was recovering fast. However, his back injury has thrown everything in cold water. Also, the BCCI and the Team India management would not risk rushing his return, as they want him to be in his best shape for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia in October.

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CSK is already under pressure, having been off to a horror start, losing its four opening matches. Moreover, the absence of a frontline seamer like Chahar in the team is doing it no good. While CSK has fared terribly with the ball in the powerplay this season, claiming just a couple of wickets in the four innings at an economy of 8.62 in 24 overs, Chahar has had great success in the phase, bagging 42 in 58 at 7.61.

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Chahar was repurchased by CSK during the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, as the franchise shelled out ₹14 crore. In his absence, the likes of Mukesh Choudhary, Tushar Deshpande, Adam Milne and Chris Jordan have been tried with the new ball, but to no avail. KM Asif and Rajvardhan Hangarkekar are still the two options left with CSK with the new ball.