The news of Deepak Chahar’s injury has been a huge disappointment for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans. The right-arm pacer injured his hamstring while playing against the Mumbai Indians last Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium. Chahar opened the bowling for Chennai Super Kings and returned with figures of 0/10 after only one over. The next IPL match of CSK is against the Rajasthan Royals on April 12 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Let’s look at 3 players who can replace Chahar in the playing XI:
1) Simarjeet Singh
Last year, Simarjeet Singh debuted in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings. He featured in six matches and took four wickets in the process. His last appearance in the league phase was against the Rajasthan Royals, where he returned 1/18 figures in three overs. More importantly, Singh managed to pick up the important wicket of Jos Buttler during the early powerplay overs. Considering Singh’s past performance against Buttler, the Chennai Super Kings management might bring him back into playing XI against the Rajasthan Royals in their next IPL 2023 game.
2) Akash Singh
Akash Singh, the uncapped Indian pacer, has been signed by the Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for Mukesh Choudhary. Singh debuted with the Rajasthan Royals against CSK in 2021. However, his bowling against Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the nets could give him a good chance of getting his first CSK cap for the next game against the same team.
3) Prashant Solanki
At the IPL 2022 Auction, the Chennai Super Kings spent ₹1.2 crores to sign uncapped leg-spinner Prashant Solanki. Surprisingly, CSK only used Solanki in just two matches; however, he impressed against the Rajasthan Royals, ending with 2/20 figures, accounting for the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The MA Chidambaram Stadium conditions are favorable for spinners, with Moeen Ali taking a four-wicket haul in the last game on this ground. Thus, CSK could consider bringing in leg-spinner Solanki to replace Deepak Chahar, as he showed promise similar to Simarjeet Singh’s performance against RR last season.