Follow UsWhen teams enter a fresh season with a known issue that’s been unaddressed, there are usually two outcomes.
In some cases, the problem magically fixes itself. Like it happened with Mumbai Indians (MI) last season, where they had an evident spin issue entering into the season but Piyush Chawla ended up having a remarkable season — 22 wickets @ 22.50 a piece — that papered over cracks.
In most cases, though, the problem compounds and that ends up putting the team in question in a real spot of bother.
Punjab Kings entered IPL 2024 knowing Rahul Chahar’s form was a massive concern. But having not addressed the problem at the auction table, they hoped that the issue would magically fix itself.
Three games into the season, however, it’s not looking good for the Kings.
For four seasons, between IPL 2019 and IPL 2022, Chahar was one of the most consistent wrist-spinners in the competition.
In all he picked 55 wickets but the key factor that stood out was his consistency: he picked at least 13 wickets in each of the four said seasons, underlining his ability to be a reliable wicket-taker.
Things, however, changed last season, with the leggie picking just eight wickets across the entire edition. In IPL 2023, Chahar’s average of 48.1 was the worst among all leg-spinners in the competition who had sent down at least 30 overs.
Even the best players in the world tend to have off-seasons but Chahar’s drop was alarming. He was so poor that he was by some distance the worst leg-spinner in the competition, with the bowler with the second-worst record, Suyash Sharma, registering an average of 32.1, which was 16 better than Chahar.
Chahar’s form hurt Punjab, for he was supposed to be their difference-maker with the ball in the middle overs. As it turned out, the leggie’s lack of penetration meant that PBKS ended IPL 2023 as one of the worst bowling sides in the crucial 7-15 phase, picking the second-fewest wickets (30) and registering the third-worst average in the phase (37.7).
The same played a hand in them ultimately having a forgettable season, finishing eighth, registering just six wins in 14 games.
Despite a middling 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali campaign — six wickets in five matches — PBKS chose to keep their faith in Chahar but the Kings are at a bit of a crossroads now.
A week into IPL 2024, the season has not been any better for Chahar, who has struck just twice in his first three matches of the season.
That’s a concern in itself but the bigger worry for the Kings is that teams have now started to hit Chahar out of the attack.
For all his lack of penetration with the ball last season, Chahar still kept things relatively tight. He had an economy of 7.8, which was in fact the second-best E.R among all leg-spinners in IPL 2023.
Cut to IPL 2024, Chahar’s economy reads a dismal 11.4. In three games, he’s already recorded an E.R of 11.00 more times than he did across the entirety of IPL 2022 and IPL 2023.
After a ‘good but not great’ outing in the first game of the season against Delhi Capitals (1/33 off 4), Chahar was blasted out of the attack after just one over by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who took him for 16 in his first over and hit him out of the attack.
It was a forgettable night but stuff like that happens at the Chinnaswamy. A leg-spinner at that venue will always fail more than he’ll succeed.
It was Chahar’s showing against Lucknow on March 30 (Saturday), however, that really highlighted the utter lack of bite and confidence in his bowling.
After being tonked for a pair of sixes by Marcus Stoinis, Chahar roared back on the fourth ball of the over, getting one to go through the gates of the batter via a quicker one.
The Chahar of the old — at his confident best — would have fed off the confidence he gained through the wicket and finished his spell on a high, but on this occasion, the leggie ended up conceding 20 off his next over and getting carted out of the attack. As it turned out, he ended up not even bowling his full quota of four overs.
Chahar was, of course, a tad unfortunate to come up against a rampant Nicholas Pooran, but what made his spell a sorry watch was how ‘easy’ it was for the LSG batters. Pooran dispatched him as if he was an uncapped rookie leggie. As did Stoinis, before going for one too many hits.
Today, Chahar induced a false shot percentage of just 5.5%, which was the fewest among all Punjab bowlers. Again, it’s one thing being ‘poor’, but Chahar was so ineffective that every other PBKS bowler induced a false shot percentage of at least 25%.
The 24-year-old made life far too easy for the LSG batters by straying short, with over 61% of his deliveries being either short-balls or drag-downs.
Punjab’s decision to not go after an established leggie at the auction table — Indian or overseas — means that they’re stuck with Chahar for the time being.
The Kings, then, have two solutions at this point in time. One is to rejig their strategy and play without a leg-spinner for the next few games, and put all their eggs in the pace basket. The other is to hope that Chahar magically rediscovers his form, which has been iffy since the back end of the 2022 season.
The sooner Punjab get clarity over what they want to do, the better.