Deepak Chahar says injuries 'not in a player's hand', sets sights on making India comeback

India white-ball specialist Deepak Chahar has set his sights on regaining his place in the team amid battle with injuries. The 31-year-old seamer, considered a new-ball specialist in the shorter formats, especially T20, has yet to play for India this year. Chahar also hasn’t been seen in action since this year’s Indian Premier League, where he was part of the Chennai Super Kings side that won its fifth title. Chahar has been bogged down by multiple injury concerns in the past; he picked up a hamstring injury earlier in the season and missed as many as six matches in IPL 2023. Before that, he had missed IPL 2022 entirely due to a back injury and also sat out of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The seamer, however, believed injuries aren’t something that are in a player’s control. “A player should not get disappointed by injuries. These things are not in a player’s hand. My priority right now is to remain fit and be available for the team. I will give my 100 per cent for the team whenever I get a chance,” Chahar told PTI Bhasha on the sidelines of a promotional event of his brand D9 in New Delhi on Tuesday. “In my case it can also be said that I was having a bad time. Last year I suffered a back injury, which is serious for a fast bowler but now I am completely fit. I am very happy with my bowling at the moment. “I am trying to make a comeback into the national team. I recently played the RPL (Rajasthan Premier League) tournament. Till Sunday, I was at the National Cricket Academy. I was practising with the Indian team, which is going to China for the Asian Games,” he added. With the ball in hand, Chahar has picked up 16 and 29 wickets respectively from 13 ODIs and 24 T20 Internationals. But Chahar is also no mug with the bat and has two half-centuries in ODIs. Chahar is not part of the Indian team for the upcoming ODI World Cup at home but the cricketer aspires to win the elite ICC tournament once during his playing career. “A cricketer’s dream is to play the World Cup and win it for the country. I will try to complete it whenever I get a chance. “I have won many tournaments in my first appearance. It was my first Asia Cup when India won it in 2018. I have played five finals in last six IPL seasons and have become champions thrice,” he said. “I have not played the World Cup yet and whenever I get a chance, I want to contribute to the team’s victory.” Chahar said he has learnt a lot from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his skipper at CSK. “I am very lucky that I got a chance to spend time with Mahi bhai (Dhoni). I have been playing with him for many years. I consider him as my elder brother and my idol. I respect him a lot as a player and human being. I have learnt a lot from him.” With inputs from PTI