Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Deepak Chahar recalled his shortest interaction with skipper MS Dhoni on allowing him bowl in the death overs. Chahar felt the need to take responsibility to bowl in the toughest phase in T20 cricket.
The young pacer was ready to take the challenge, but Dhoni declined his request in just three words. The CSK captain prefers to use Chahar in the powerplay and middle overs.
In a recent interview cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra, Chahar said he was bowling at a good pace and thought there is a chance to get a couple of overs in death on approval of skipper Dhoni.
“Generally you don’t give the old ball to bowlers who have the pace of 120-125 km/h but when I was playing for RPS and even for CSK I was bowling at around 140 but still he didn’t give me the ball in the death,” Chahar told Chopra in his show Aakash Vaani.
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He added, “I had asked this to Mahi bhai. He gave me a two-word answer and then I couldn’t say much. So I asked the bowling coach a couple of times, he also said I should be bowled in the death overs. Finally, I gathered some courage and asked Mahi bhai when he was sitting in a room. He said, ‘I groom players’ and that’s it. He didn’t say anything else."
Chahar has been effective for the Chennai-based franchise with the new ball. He also got a T20I call for India after having a good outing for Super Kings.
The 28-year-old also explained what kind of cricketers Dhoni usually looks for. He said the CSK captain wants his players to be as profoundly contributive as they can in all three departments. “I think Dhoni prefers those who are good in all departments. He likes those who can contribute in batting bowling and fielding. A bowler can have a bad day but he can change a match by grabbing a good catch or can win the batch with a six or a four.
“If you look at our team, we have many players who are good in every department. T20 is a format that requires you to do everything. There are a lot of teams in the IPL which have a strong batting line-up or a strong bowling attack but they remain dependent on a few cricketers. If they do well, they end up winning you matches single-handedly but if they don’t, the team struggles,” Chahar said.
Deepak will be in action on September 19 against Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener at Abu Dhabi.
