“It was the first thing that crossed my mind – possibly not being able to represent Australia in this Champions Trophy”
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Australia batsman Chris Lynn has revealed that he had doubts about whether he would be able to participate in the Champions Trophy after injuring his shoulder during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The injury occurred while Lynn was representing the Kolkata Knight Riders in their match against the Mumbai Indians in April.
However, even though there were initially concerns that the 27-year-old would be sidelined for a lengthy period of time, those worries were put to rest when he made his comeback just under a month later when the Knight Riders took on the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“It was the first thing that crossed my mind – possibly not being able to represent Australia in this Champions Trophy,” Lynn told team-mate Glenn Maxwell in an interview for cricket.com.au. “But hard work pays off, and now that I’m here I’m hoping to make the most of my opportunities and we’ll see what happens.
“It was a long couple of weeks in India, I really smacked the rehab, so the body’s feeling good and I’m ready to hit the ground running. The best decision I made was staying over there after the injury – being around the boys and giving myself the best opportunity to get to the Champions Trophy. That’s paid off.
“I went out there and scored a few runs which is always a positive; getting back out there and whacking the ball over the fence is what I love doing, so I’m going to try and do that hopefully for Australia over the next three weeks.”
Lynn’s terrific showing at the IPL, which saw him score 295 runs in seven matches at an average of 49.16 and a strike-rate of 180.98, came on the back of his stellar performance at the Big Bash League (BBL), where he accumulated 309 runs in five games at an average of 154.50 and a strike-rate of 177.58.
Just as Lynn had taken the BBL by storm, his campaign was cut short by a bulging disc in his neck.
Despite this, the Brisbane native was rewarded with his ODI debut against Pakistan on January 13, but he was only able to muster 16 runs. Things took a turn for the worse after that as he aggravated the injury he had sustained during the BBL and had to be sidelined once again.
“It was obviously great to make my debut at the Gabba,” Lynn said. “I hit a little hurdle with the neck injury, but it was good to get some time in the middle in the IPL – then believe it or not, I hit another hurdle.
“I haven’t played Matador Cup for about four years now, so thank you to the selectors for getting me (to the Champions Trophy).
“Obviously (the injuries and rehab is) physically hard on the body, but mentally it’s probably even harder. Everyone looks forward to that break at the end of the year, but I was really keen to keep playing cricket because I’d missed so much through the year.
“It probably won’t be the last injury I have, that’s a challenge sportsmen face, I’ve just had more than most.”
Australia kick off their Champions Trophy campaign against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Friday and even if Lynn doesn’t find himself in the playing XI, he acknowledged that his side will come out firing on all cylinders.
“Everyone’s topping up now, from the IPL and (training at the National Cricket Centre in) Brisbane,” he said. “We’re on autopilot a little bit but come the first game on June 2, it’s time to push the button.”