IPL 2022: "I played with stitches in my hand" - Rahul Chahar
Punjab Kings leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has revealed that he's been playing the last few IPL 2022 matches with stitches on his bowling arm. Chahar also cited this as the reason for his wicketless spells in the last two matches.
The 22-year-old picked up 12 wickets in the first nine matches of the season. However, in the 10th match against Gujarat Titans, he came in the way of a run-out shy at the non-striker's end, breaking his finger. He didn't bowl further in the match and went for 39 runs in 22 wicketless balls in the following clash.
Speaking to broadcaster Star Sports ahead of the Kings' match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday, Chahar rued the injury and said he'll now focus on improving his economy rate. He said wickets "aren't in your hands as a bowler" whereas being economical is under control.
"I think I started really well, then it was good in the mid-phase too. The last two-three matches weren't good. One of the reasons for that is I played with stitches in my hand and that's my main finger. The stitches are still intact but I'll try to better my economy rate in the upcoming matches. Wickets aren't in your hand as a bowler but economy is."
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It will be interesting to see how he fares against the Royal Challengers. In seven matches against them, he has picked up just four wickets at an average of 50.75.
"We are waiting for just one thing - momentum" - Rahul Chahar
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Asked about the mood in the team's dressing room after a middling season and with qualification chances hanging by a thread, he said they are only waiting for some momentum. He said the team wants to string together a couple of victories and is confident to begin that process against the Royal Challengers.
"Mainly, we are waiting for just one thing - momentum. We haven't won two consecutive matches in the entire tournament. We win one but then lose the next. So that's the talk that once we win two games, we'll have the momentum and everyone is confident that we'll do that this time."
The Kings are batting first at the Brabourne Stadium. You can catch the live proceedings here.