Indian pacer Deepak Chahar, who was in the fray to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad, is reportedly ruled out of the competition. The 30-year-old is nursing back and hip injuries and is unlikely to regain fitness before the event.
Chahar recently featured in the three-match T20I series against South Africa, where he scalped only one wicket in the three games but also played an impressive knock of 31 runs in the last match. He was expected to play in the subsequent ODI series, but injuries prevented him from doing so.
The pacer was flown to Bangalore’s National Cricket Academy (NCA), and following an assessment of his injury, it has reportedly been decided that Chahar will not be ready for the T20 World Cup 2022.
With the Agra-born player being ruled out of the race to replace Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami is expected to get a place in the Indian squad. Bumrah was previously ruled out with a back stress fracture.
Siraj and Thakur Expected To Leave for Australia Alongside Shami
Chahar was one of India’s four players on the standby list, alongside Shami, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Hooda. With both him and Bumrah out of the competition with injuries, the national selection committee is reportedly expected to include Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur in India’s reserve contingent.
Both Siraj and Thakur recently played in the ODI series against South Africa. Siraj scalped five wickets in that three-match affair, while Thakur picked up three wickets and also scored 33 runs in the first ODI. The duo is likely to fly to Australia soon, alongside Shami, who now has emerged as the obvious front-runner to take up the vacant place in the Indian squad.
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