IPL postponement gives me time to fully recover from injury, believes Deepak Chahar
India pacer Deepak Chahar, who is yet to feature in a game in 2020 owing to a back injury he picked up in December, feels that the delayed start to the IPL will help him fully recover from his injury. Chahar had his breakthrough IPL season in 2019, claiming 22 wickets for the MS Dhoni-led CSK.
Two outstanding IPL seasons in 2018 and 2019 - where he picked up a total of 33 wickets at an economy under 7.40 and established himself as the ‘powerplay king’ - meant that the national selectors fast-tracked Deepak Chahar’s selection to the national side and soon, by mid 2019, the Rajasthan pacer became a regular in the country’s T20I side.
But after having enjoyed an almost-perfect start to his T20I career - claiming 17 wickets in his first 10 games including a match-winning hat-trick against Bangladesh - and after looking like a certain starter for India in the World T20 in Australia, Chahar was pegged back by a back injury in December, one that has now kept him out of action for close to four months.
However, the 27-year-old, despite the frustrating run on the sidelines, has sought solace in the form of the postponement of the IPL, with the tournament now pushed to April 15, and has stated that the delay in the start of the IPL will give him the perfect opportunity to recover completely from his back injury.
“On the personal front, this (coronavirus problem) will give me extra time to get back on the track. Had IPL started on time, there was a possibility I would have missed out on a few initial games," Chahar told Times of India.
The Covid-19 outbreak in the country has meant that a lot of training facilities - including the NCA in Bengaluru - have had to close their doors in order to contain the spread which, in turn, has had adverse effects on the athletes aiming to keep themselves fit. The 27-year-old pacer, however, is of the opinion that safety needs to be prioritized over everything and revealed that he’s ordered gym equipment in order to keep himself fit should the situation continue to remain the same in the days to come.
"On March 19th the NCA was declared closed. Given the spread of coronavirus, it was the right decision to send everyone back home as we stay in hotels and eat food there itself. It is not safe in the current scenario.
"Even our academy is shut, but I might practice alone there. In fact, two days ago I had ordered a few basic gym equipment, so that my exercise does not stop."
