The Chennai Super Kings have been dealt two huge blows even before the start of the tournament. Star opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was retained for 6 crores, and pacer Deepak Chahar, who was bought in the mega-auction for 14 crores, both suffered injuries during the white-ball matches against West Indies and are in a rehabilitation programme at the NCA.
Deepak Chahar, in fact, is set to miss more than half of the IPL 2022, which kicks off on March 26. Chahar sustained a right quadriceps tear while bowling his second over in the third T20I versus West Indies, and left the field after bowling 1.5 overs. He will take a minimum of six to eight weeks to recover ruling him out for a major chunk of the tournament.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played one T20I against West Indies, was then ruled out of the Sri Lanka series due to a wrist injury.
CEO Kasi Vishwanathan said on Sunday that the franchise is awaiting a final assessment from the NCA in Bangalore where both players are rehabilitating. Most of the CSK players, including skipper MS Dhoni, have assembled in Surat and are having a preparatory camp at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium.
Speaking with PTI, Kasi Vishwanathan said: “We are not aware of their current fitness status and won’t be able to tell you when they would join the squad. Obviously, the BCCI has told us that once they are match-fit, they would intimate us. They are at the NCA currently.”
Any injured player needs to be at the NCA and get the clearance certificate after appearing in various fitness tests once the rehabilitation programme is complete.
Gaikwad has a breakthrough season last year, finishing with Orange Cap having amassed 635 runs in the tournament and helping CSK to their fourth title. CSK broke the bank for Chahar who has been the best powerplay bowler in the IPL since 2018. The Super Kings take on KKR in the opening game of IPL 2022.
Along with Chahar and Gaikwad is Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav, who suffered a hairline fracture in his hand while fielding in the West Indies series.
