Deepak Chahar
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Career
2010- 2021 June
Arani Basu, July 22, 2021: The Times of India
There’s a video Deepak Chahar had posted on Instagram while quarantining in Mumbai before leaving for the ongoing Sri Lanka tour. He was batting with a baseball bat while Navdeep Saini bowled to him with a tennis ball in the backyard of the team hotel. He was absolutely nailing the front-foot cover drives.
For all his skills to move the ball both ways, Deepak’s batting ability has rather gone unnoticed until he pulled off an improbable chase against Sri Lanka. That unbeaten 69 will help establish Deepak’s credentials as a useful lower-order bat.
Deepak has backed himself as an allrounder for nearly four years now. He had even listed himself as an allrounder for the IPL auctions in 2018. It was the year he was lapped up for Rs 80 lakh by Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a franchise that has provided wings to his career. It was the same auction when his younger cousin Rahul was bought for Rs 1.9 crores by Mumbai Indians.
The Chahar household was elated but the day ended with a regret too. The Chahars believed Deepak could have fetched a bigger amount.
“Humari galti thi (It was our fault). Deepak had filled the form as an allrounder. The allrounder category came late in the day. Rahul went as a bowler. Rahul’s name came early in the auction. Deepak came later. By the time Deepak’s name was called, teams had exhausted a lot of the money otherwise Deepak would have got more than Rs 2 crores,” Lokander Chahar, Deepak’s father, told TOI. “We had an idea that Rahul would draw big bids. It was not a surprise or a fluke that he went for so much,” Lokander, who has coached both Deepak and Rahul in their younger days, said.
The confidence in the Chahars came from the sterling Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament that preceded the auctions and the fact that Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni had both liked Deepak’s improvement in the previous season at Rising Pune Supergiant. When Deepak was trying to make a comeback into top-flight cricket after sustaining injuries after a dream debut Ranji season in 2010-11, he had decided that he had to work on his batting to add another dimension to his game. One may remember how captain Dhoni even promoted him to No. 6 in a tricky run chase against Kings XI Punjab in 2018. Deepak responded with a 20-ball 39 to set up a win.
Even as he prospered as a swing bowler in white-ball cricket for India, Deepak continued to lay emphasis on his batting. He even batted in the top order for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019-20 as he captained the team into the semifinals of the tournament.
“He was batting really well for Rajasthan before he got injured after that tournament. But Deepak knows he can’t be a one-dimensional cricketer,” Lokander said.
As for his bowling, one might have seen a drop in pace in the two Lanka ODIs. But that’s a well thought-out move. In 2019, Deepak had spoken about how much his body could endure. “Deepak understands his body and limitations because nothing is natural about him. If bowling at over 140 km/hr comes to you naturally, you can bowl 13 -14 overs in a day. But if he worked on bowling long spells, he will be a 130 km/hr bowler. If he bowls quicker than that, it would require more power. Chances of getting injured are more,” Lokander explained.
2019: on a roll
Mandakini Shalya, Nov 12, 2019: The Times of India
From: Mandakini Shalya, Nov 12, 2019: The Times of India
Twenty balls, seven runs, six wickets. A day after Deepak Chahar’s incredible feat of registering the best-ever bowling figures in T20 Internationals, the cricketing world woke up to the immense potential of the 27-yearold ‘Powerplay’ bowler, who on Sunday redefined his utility by spearheading an inexperienced India attack to a series win.
Chahar’s exploits in the third T20 International against Bangladesh, however, may not have come to pass if 11 years ago his father, Lokendra Singh Chahar, had heeded the advice of Greg Chappell, a former coach of the same national team the seam bowler now proudly represents. At a time when Chahar was still finding his way in age-group cricket, he was asked to look for a different occupation by Chappell, the then-director of the Rajasthan Cricket Academy. A pep talk by his father, who also happened to be his coach, flushed the sense of dejection out of the 18-year-old Deepak.
Cut to Sunday in Nagpur and it was a night to remember for the 27-year-old Chahal as he broke numerous records on his way to creating a sensation — Deepak also became the first Indian to claim a hat-trick in T20Is. Known primarily as a penetrative T20 new-ball ‘swing’ bowler because of his exploits with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL, Chahal has also been required to bowl at the ‘death’ by captain Rohit Sharma because of the present composition of India’s attack. The rightarm seamer, who represents Rajasthan in domestic cricket, pulled off the challenge with aplomb to win the man-of-the- series award. The confidence and maturity Chahar is now showing is a direct result of the immense effort the bowler from Agra has put in over the years, first under his father and then former India captain MS Dhoni, his captain at CSK. The 27-year-old announced his presence in first-class cricket in loud fashion, taking eight wickets for 10 runs on Ranji Trophy debut as Hyderbad were all out for 21 at the SMS Stadium in 2010. A spate of untimely illnesses, however, delayed Chahar’s progress. “Once it was jaundice, then a thumb injury. These issues cropped up when the domestic season was about to begin,” his father Lokendra told TOI from Agra.
Chahar picked up a cricket ball for the first time at age seven. By 12, was eyeing a career as a cricketer. His father, an assistant air traffic controller with the Indian Air Force, was posted at Suratgarh border in Rajasthan when Deepak started playing age-group cricket while studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya. After retiring from his job in 2006, Lokendra settled down in Agra and started a cricket academy at the GD Goenka School. Deepak played for Hanumangarh DCA, under the Rajasthan Cricket Association, where he also trained under Navendu Tyagi, who was then secretary of the club.
Lokendra made optimum use of the extra time after his retirement to help Deepak hone his skills. “Today, he has every delivery in his repertoire and he can bowl in any situation. Be it a bouncer, a slow bouncer, yorker, in-swingers, out-swingers, legcutter, knuckle bowl... you ask and it’s there. He has also developed the ability to read the mindset of batsmen. The presence of mind required to bowl at the death and in high-pressure situations has come from playing for CSK,” Lokendra said. “Chappell lacked the eye to spot talent so he dismissed Deepak, but Dhoni had that ability and hence my child is flourishing.”
CSK stint helped Chahar evolve
Dwaipayan Datta, Nov 12, 2019: The Times of India
It was about six months ago that MS Dhoni threw the ball to Deepak Chahar in an IPL game, with Kings XI needing 39 off 12. Two back-to-back no balls — one of which was an above-the-waist fulltoss — brought it down to 31 off 12 and Dhoni, in a departure from his cool on-field demeanour, walked up to Chahar and spoke a few strong words. Chahar, struggling with the dew, listened to his captain and won that game for CSK.
“Playing in Chennai (for CSK), I have now realised how to counter dew and sweat, how to keep my hands clean. At times, rub dry soil in your hands and then bowl,” Chahar said in Nagpur, where dew was making life difficult for bowlers.
In such difficult circumstances, Chahar bowled 14 dots off the 20 balls he bowled on Sunday, showing how well he has learnt to deal with the dew factor. When Chahar came to CSK for a paltry Rs 80 lakh, no one expected him to make the impression that he has. “The good thing about Chahar is that he is always keen to learn. When he joined CSK, initially, he used to bowl only in the first 10 overs. But Dhoni was keen to use him at the death and see how well he has learnt,” L Balaji, the bowling coach of CSK, told TOI.
Going back to that game in Chepauk, Balaji recollected how Chahar was struggling with the dew. “Dhoni told him to use slower balls and back-of-the-length deliveries to make it tough for batsmen. It was good to see he has learnt and he negotiated similar conditions so well,” Balaji said. Incidentally, he hasn’t bowled a single no-ball in the T20 format since that Kings XI game.
Chahar was always known in the domestic circuit as someone who could swing the ball both ways. But while playing for CSK on pitches which had nothing for pacers, it was imperative for him to work on a few variations. “We told him the importance of keeping the seam upright, something that he has done very well of late. He has also developed the knuckle ball and had varied the pace well, that has made captains think of him as a bowler in the death as well,” Balaji added.
Another crucial factor that was troubling Chahar before he became part of CSK was his fitness. But he understood that to be able to deliver on a regular basis in the pressurecooker situation of the IPL, it was crucial that he stayed fit. “Chahar is a determined lad and has faced difficult times. So he worked extremely hard on his fitness,” Balaji said.
Chahar anticipates the batsman’s moves
VVS LAXMAN, Nov 12, 2019: The Times of India
India were a bowler light after leaving out Krunal Pandya. That, combined with the heavy dew, meant 174 wasn’t as many as they appeared, and Bangladesh seemed to have things in control at 110 for two when Rohit showcased his leadership skills. He used his resources beautifully and his strong words to the team in the huddle, after Mithun’s dismissal, galvanized his troops.
Shivam Dube started to mix his pace up and was rewarded with three wickets, but the real star was Deepak Chahar, who picked up a hat-trick on his way to the best-ever T20I figures.
Chahar’s evolution has been fascinating to track. At one stage an out-and-out swing bowler, he has added more weapons to his repertoire and is now capable of taking wickets at any stage of an innings.
He has the rare knack of getting into the minds of batsmen and therefore anticipating their moves. He also showed great heart in embracing the lead bowler’s role, and his exploits will have gladdened the thinktank more than anything else.
KL Rahul provided another glimpse of why he is rated so highly with an excellent knock on a tricky surface in Nagpur. He did so by sticking to his strengths and playing conventional strokes, relying more on timing than power.
Equally impressive was Shreyas Iyer, who has gone a long way towards establishing himself as the elusive No. 4. When KL was blazing away, Shreyas was content to play second fiddle. Once he became the lead partner with a struggling Rishabh Pant, he took over the lead role, shifting gears effortlessly.
