Playing under MS Dhoni in IPL has significantly helped my career, says Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar has credited his time playing under MS Dhoni in the IPL for CSK for all his recent success in international cricket. Chahar became the first Indian male cricketer to claim a T20I hat-trick, while also winning India the series against Bangladesh with a T20-record spell of six for seven.
The 27-year-old from Rajasthan has played only eight international matches so far (one ODI and seven T20Is) but soon has become one of the finds among the upcoming generation of Indian fast bowlers. However, Chahar gives a lot of the credit for his success to his Indian Premier League (IPL) captain (Chennai Super Kings) Dhoni.
âI want to give all the credit to the IPL. I have learnt a lot at CSK and from Dhoni bhai. How to read the body language of a batsman and then bowl accordingly. All these things are helping me a lot in international cricket. It has been more than two years that I have been playing under him (Dhoni). He has scolded me a lot also on the field. I have learnt a lot from those incidents too. He will observe you from behind the wickets. I am in touch with him (Dhoni). Sometimes I speak with him while playing PubG,â Chahar told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview.
âI have a habit of watching videos of batsmen against whom I will have to bowl in a match. This has also helped me take my game to a different level. It feels great when your hard work pays off," he said.
Interestingly, Chahar was unaware that he was on a hat-trick, as it was spread over two overs. He found out just as he was about to start his run-up, changed his plan and delivered a near-perfect yorker to dismiss Aminul Islam.
âClaiming a hat-trick is not easy for a bowler. It all depends on the day and time, and destiny too. All three worked in my favour against Bangladesh. I wasnât aware it was my hat-trick ball. When I was about to start my run-up, my team-mates started cheering. Fans were clapping and cheering too. I looked at the giant screen and then I got to know it was a hat-trick ball. The moment I got to know it was a hat-trick ball, I changed my plan. I wanted to bowl something different and didnât want to miss my hat-trick. I thought a yorker will be a good option and the plan worked really well,â Chahar said.
Across the last two years in the IPL, Chahar has been used mostly as a new-ball bowler. However, stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma backed him to bowl some crucial overs at the death as well. Going forward, Chahar wants to be known as an "every-situation specialist" as he tries to cement his place in a packed Indian side.
âIt feels good when your captain trusts you and I was a happy man when I delivered. I know people have started calling me a death-overs specialist. But I want to be tagged as an âevery-situation specialistâ. Whether my captain asks me to bowl with the new ball or old ball, I will. If he is looking for someone to bowl at any given point of the match, I will be the first one to raise my hand,â Chahar added.
