Deepak Chahar has been ruled out of the upcoming three-T20I series against Sri Lanka. The fast-bowling all-rounder suffered a grade 2 tear on his right thigh during the third T20I clash against West Indies on February 20.
Chahar has left the bio-bubble and will undergo rehabilitation at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru for five to six weeks. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to announce his replacement for the series which will begin on February 24.
The incident took place in the third over of West Indies' run chase. Chahar pulled off from his delivery stride and clutched his hamstring. The physio was quick to respond and examined Chahar's injury as he was visibly in pain. In the end, he had to walk off the field as Venkatesh Iyer completed his over.
The 29-year-old did not take further part in the T20I and Venkatesh completed his quota. While Chahar took got rid of West Indies openers Kyle Mayers and Shai Hope with the new ball, Venkatesh was handy in the middle overs as he took the wickets of skipper Kieron Pollard and Jason Holder. The two all-rounders registered single-digit scores and did not provide any support to in-form Nicholas Pooran as West Indies lost the match by 17 runs.
The first T20I of the Sri Lanka series will be played at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on February 24 followed by T20Is at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on February 26 and 27.
In Chahar's absence, India will miss the services of a bowling all-rounder down the order because Shardul Thakur has been rested for the T20I series. With Jasprit Bumrah back in the squad, he will open the bowling alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who found his form against West Indies.
Chahar had recently bagged a whopping Rs 14 crore deal with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. He became the most expensive Indian bowler in the history of IPL auction.
India's T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Bumrah (vc), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan
