IPL in UAE: Chennai Super Kings’ Deepak Chahar keen to return to action

Deepak Chahar is certainly not one to waste any time. The spearhead of Chennai Super Kings was quick to start training once the COVID-19 scare receded.

Unable to hit the gym, Chahar used some makeshift weights to do some weight training in the hotel room. That makes perfect sense since the Indian Premier League gets underway in the UAE on September 19.

In a video, posted on his twitter handle, the fast bowler thanked everybody for the “love and prayers”. “I am better now and trying my best to keep myself fit..hopefully you will see me in action very soon..” 

This is the first official confirmation that Chahar had contracted the new coronavirus. Although there was speculation in the media, neither the Chennai Super Kings nor the India cricket board had named the players.

https://twitter.com/deepak_chahar9/status/1300806633480769536?s=20

The confirmation came in the form of a tweet from his cousin, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar. “Stay strong brother Flexed biceps hoping for your speedy recovery and all my prayers for you Folded hands get well soon,” Rahul had tweeted tagging Deepak in the post.

Now that the two players and 11 support staff of the Chennai Super Kings have tested negative, they will undergo another test on Thursday, before beginning practice sessions the next day, Chief Executive Officer Kasi Viswanathan had told the media. Chahar will have to wait a little longer before he joins the teammates at the nets since he had tested positive for the virus and has to undergo a 14-day quarantine.

Deepak Chahar is critical to the CSK fortunes in the IPL. A classical swing bowler, he’s at his best in the early overs. Over the years, he’s added more variety in deliveries which makes a competent bowler in the slog overs.

He holds the best bowling figures in T20 cricket: 6 for 7 against Bangladesh in 2019-20. Four of those wickets, including a hat-trick, came in the death overs. That gives a fair idea of his critical role in the plans and tactics of CSK.

For a side reeling from the dramatic departure of their prolific run-getter, Suresh Raina, Chahar’s recovery and keenness to hit the stride will come as a huge relief to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the CSK camp.

A fully fit Chahar will surely have the Chennai brigade whistling again.