Rajasthan pacer Deepak Chahar had a rough year in 2022 as he missed the entire IPL 2022 due to a stress fracture and when he made his return for the Indian team and was included as a standby in the T20 World Cup 2022 squad, he suffered a quad grade 3 tear.
This led to him being removed as the standby bowler and he managed only 15 games for India last year and had to undergo a lengthy rehab for his injuries, which have happened frequently for someone as talented as him.
Having done extensive rehab at the National Cricket Academy, Chahar is preparing for the IPL where he will represent the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
“I working hard for the past two-three months on my fitness, I am fully fit and preparing well for the IPL. I had two big injuries. One was a stress fracture and one was a quad grade 3 tear. They are both very big injuries. You are out for months. Anyone who comes back after the injury takes time, especially for fast bowlers.
If I was a batter, I would be playing way back long but as a fast bowler, when you have a stress fracture, it is very tough to get back on track. You can see other bowlers struggling with the back as well,” Chahar told PTI.
He played one game in the recent Ranji Trophy tournament for Rajasthan against Services, which was his comeback to competitive cricket.
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Multiple injuries have pushed him down in the pecking order but he hopes to be part of the Indian team for the ODI World Cup at home later this year.
“I have lived by one rule all my life. If I am fully bowling the way I want, if I am batting the way I want, there is no stopping me. That was the basic rule with which I started my career. I don’t care who is playing, or who is not playing, my motive is to get fully fit and perform with the ball and bat 100 percent. If I do that, I will get my chances,” said Chahar.
Since making his India debut in July 2018, he has managed to play in 13 ODIs and 24 T20Is.
Chahar was also excited about the first edition of the Women’s Premier League which will precede the IPL.
“IPL changed men’s cricket forever, people got a lot of opportunities. The same thing will happen with Women’s Premier League. Women’s cricket will grow very fast as they will face international players very early in their careers. It will also help a lot of women cricketers who have not been able to make money and will fuel competition,” said Chahar.
(PTI inputs)
