IPL 2021 | We were playing the IPL for the public and that was the motivation, admits Deepak Chahar
On the back of the IPL postponement, Deepak Chahar has admitted that they were playing the tournament for the public and that was the motivation. While revealing that they had no idea where COVID came from, Chahar admitted that none of the players panicked and handed it all well.
Chennai Super Kings put on a shambolic display in IPL 2020, where they finished seventh on the IPL table, after starting their tournament on a high with a win over Mumbai Indians. However, they didn’t take the same form into the 2021 season, with the addition of Moeen Ali and the return of Suresh Raina.
After the loss at the hands of Delhi Capitals in the opener, Chennai won five games on the trot before suffering a surprise loss at the hands of Mumbai. However, the COVID outbreak in the Kolkata camp resulted in the tournament being postponed. CSK’s premier pacer Deepak Chahar admitted that they were playing the tournament for the public, which was their motivation.
“It was challenging, but it was also important to have the IPL in these times. There was so much gloom, but at least we could entertain them for a few hours. We were playing for the public and that was the motivation,” Chahar told Sportstar.
Chahar also insisted that the Chennai players never panicked, after the outbreak of the virus in the camp, and added that they all handled the situation well.
“Once some reports came positive, the team management told us to isolate. We had tests everyday and reports came negative, so that was a big relief. But none of the players panicked and everyone handled it well,” Chahar revealed.
“But obviously, I don’t know what went wrong. It is really difficult to say, because all the players followed the bubble strictly,” he added.
After suffering a lapse last season, Chahar returned to familiar form, with eight wickets in the season all of it coming in the powerplay. The Rajasthan pacer revealed that it was a bit difficult to generate swing but was content with his performance thus far.
“Initially, it was challenging because our team had more spinners. When a team is formed, you make it keeping Chennai in mind, so yeah…(that was the challenge). But for me, it did not matter much. Even though it was a bit difficult to generate swing with the new ball, I am happy with my form,” he said.
Another interesting aspect from Chennai’s season - their deep batting order - allowed them to adopt an all-out batting approach. Chahar reckoned that having the batting depth allowed them to score big runs consistently.
“Our batting line-up was very strong and for the first time, I could bat at No.11. When you have that depth in the batting line up, batsmen can play freely and that’s the reason we could score big runs consistently.”
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