The IPL 2022 is going to start in 10 days and cricket fans are pretty excited as this year, the tournament is going to be bigger and better because of the addition of two new teams. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made some changes in the league format due to which the number of matches has not increased but still we are going to see some really tough competition as many talented Indian and overseas cricketers will showcase their skills in the tournament.
While on one hand cricket fans are quite thrilled, on the other, few franchises are in a worry mode because of the fitness of their key players as it makes them doubtful for some part of the league at least, if not for the whole IPL 2022.
Here is the list of 11 key players whose fitness issues will give a headache to their franchises:
1. Kane Williamson:
The skipper of New Zealand who will also lead the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad got injured during the South Africa series and he also missed the home series against Bangladesh. Kane Williamson may make a comeback in the matches against Netherlands and it won’t be wrong to say that SRH will look very weak without him.
2. KL Rahul:
The captain of new IPL team Lucknow Super Giants is also unfit since the West Indian series as he was unable to play the third ODI and T20I series as well. Rahul was also not able to play in the home series against Sri Lanka. Presently, he is in National Cricket Academy for rehabilitation purpose and the franchise owners are really hoping to see him back in the team soon.
3. Ruturaj Gaikwad:
The cricketer who was the top scorer in the last season and played an important role in Chennai Super Kings’ IPL win is also injured as of now and he is also in NCA, Bengaluru for rehab. Ruturaj may miss some of the matches because of the injury.
4. Jofra Archer:
The English pacer is not playing cricket for a long time due to injury and his chances of playing the IPL 2022 are negligible but Mumbai Indians still bought him despite the fact that all information regarding his participation was available to them.
5. Maheesh Theekshana:
The Sri Lankan spinner has been bought by CSK but he is also facing injury issues because of which he was not available for the India-Sri Lanka series as well.
6. Mark Wood:
The English pacer got his right hand’s elbow injured in match against West Indies because of which he may not play cricket for quite a long time. This will be a big setback for his IPL team Lucknow Super Giants.
7. Hardik Pandya:
The skipper of new IPL team Gujarat Titans will have to pass the fitness test before playing the IPL 2022. Though he is known as an all-rounder yet after his back surgery, he has been dealing with fitness issues and even in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, he was not able to bowl during the tournament. He may get to play in the IPL 2022 as a specialist batter but his chances of making it into the tournament as an all-rounder are very grim.
8. Deepak Chahar:
The Indian cricketer Deepak Chahar who is an integral part of CSK is also injured and he may not play some starting matches.
9. Washington Sundar:
The young cricketer made comeback in the Indian team during the West Indies series after a long time as he got infected with COVID-19 earlier but he got injured before the T20I series. He is an important player of SRH and we need to wait and watch till when he will be able to make a comeback.
10. Anrich Nortje:
The South African pacer was retained by Delhi Capitals but his fitness is a matter of concern for the franchise and if he is not able to play, it will give birth to some challenges for the Delhi franchise.
11. Suryakumar Yadav:
The talented Indian batsman who has been a part of Mumbai Indians for a long time now is also injured as he is having hairline fracture in thumb of his hand. There is doubt regarding him playing the first match of Mumbai Indians.
Let’s see how these franchises will deal with this issue. Do you have any suggestion?