Team India are currently in the West Indies where the side is taking part in a five-match T20I series. The Rohit Sharma-led side is currently leading the series 5-1 with the fourth match taking place in Florida on Saturday. While a majority of first-team stars returned to the T20I squad after being rested for three fifty-over games, players like Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Jasprit Bumrah were given additional rest for the ongoing series. And on Friday, India's star pacer Deepak Chahar also revealed that he could have played the T20I series against the Windies.
Chahar has remained absent from competitive cricket action since February earlier this year, when he last appeared for India against West Indies in a T20I. He suffered from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the entirety of the 2022 Indian Premier League, as well as series against South Africa (June) and the tour of England (July). However, the 29-year-old Chahar revealed that he could have made a comeback “2-3 weeks ago,” but didn't want to take a risk.
"I've had a lot of injuries in the past. But I have always believed that whenever you get injured, it gives you time to get back to basics. If you have any weaknesses, it give you time to work on them. I've always worked on my game whenever I got injured.
{{/usCountry}}"I've had a lot of injuries in the past. But I have always believed that whenever you get injured, it gives you time to get back to basics. If you have any weaknesses, it give you time to work on them. I've always worked on my game whenever I got injured.
{{/usCountry}}“If I wanted, I could have made a comeback 2-3 weeks ago only. I could have played the T20 series against West Indies. But then, my thought process was that whenever you play, you give your 110 percent. Don't even play at 99 percent. I believe I should be able to perform better than the time before I got injured,” Chahar told News24.
Chahar was picked in the India squad for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, which marks his return to cricketing action after six months. The series against Zimbabwe starts August 18.