India vs South Africa: Deepak Chahar yet to link up with Indian squad, doubtful for remainder of T20I series

Deepak Chahar’s participation in the remainder of India’s T20I series against South Africa remains doubtful with the pacer yet to link up with the squad. The first of three T20Is in Durban on Sunday ended up getting washed out entirely . The remaining games will take place in Gqeberha and Johannesburg on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. Chahar had missed the fifth T20I between India and Australia in Bengaluru due to a personal emergency after featuring in the fourth T20I in Raipur — his first appearance for the Men in Blue in more than a year. Chahar had taken a leave of absence ahead of the fifth T20I against Australia after his father required urgent hospitalisation due to a brain stroke. The Chennai Super Kings pacer was not part of the Indian contingent that boarded the flight for Durban from Bengaluru on Thursday either. “Deepak hasn’t yet joined the team in Durban as a close family member needed urgent hospitalisation. He had taken permission for a break as he needed to attend to his family member. “He may or may not join the squad depending on his family member’s health in coming days,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity. The BCCI top brass understands that Chahar might not be in the best frame of mind till the family member fully recovers and hence if he doesn’t wish to join the team now, he would be excused. The 31-year-old Rajasthan veteran boasts best figures of 6/7 in a T20 International and his prolonged absence due to injury did affect the T20 squad’s balance in the past two years. With his incisive swing bowling in Powerplay overs, Chahar is an integral part of the T20I squad and the team management would like him to get as much game time as possible. However, there remains a possibility that Chahar, who is also part of the ODI squad, will join the team during the second phase of the white ball-leg of the ongoing tour to SA. However, the other two members of the T20I squad, Shubman Gill and vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja, who were holidaying abroad after the World Cup final have directly linked up with the squad in Durban and attended the practice sessions. With inputs from PTI