Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has questioned Deepak Chahar’s fitness ahead of IPL 2026. Badrinath said the swing bowler has never played all 14 matches in a particular IPL season. Chahar took 11 wickets in 14 games of IPL 2025 at an average of 34.18 and an economy rate of 9.17.

The fast bowler has been troubled with injury woes in the IPL and hasn’t played consistently in the lucrative tournament. Chahar is expected to share the new ball with Trent Boult and he would look to deliver the goods in the Powerplay overs.

Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “Deepak Chahar playing all the matches might be a weak link, considering he doesn’t play much cricket. He has never played all 14 matches in his IPL career.”

The former CSK batter praised Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah but said the latter might not play all 14 games to manage his workload.

“If Rohit Sharma is the intimidator in the powerplay with the bat, Trent Boult is the same with the ball. Then the cheat code Bumrah, needs no introduction. They’ve already named him the GOAT. But there is a question mark as to whether he’ll play all 14 matches because of his fitness.”

Meanwhile, Badrinath reckons bowling might be a challenge for MI in the upcoming season.

“Shardul Thakur adds a wicket-taking knack or luck, whichever way you look at it. He can also add some batting as an Impact Sub. But bowling may be a little bit of a challenge for MI,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on 29th March.