Deepak Chahar, India and Rajasthan pacer, reacted after his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) didn’t retain him ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
CSK retained Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, and the legendary MS Dhoni, ahead of the IPL 2025 auction scheduled for November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Chahar, whose career has been stop-start due to injury, had played 8 matches in IPL 2024 before being ruled out due to injury once again.
Since the beginning of his IPL career, Chahar has played for CSK and Rising Pune Giants; nevertheless, the five-time champions did not sign the seamer, whose career has been plagued by repeated ailments.
"I was not retained by them in the last mega auction as well. But they went all out for me and bought me back. I don't know what will happen this year, but I know my skill will be valued more now given the fact that around 90-100 runs are being scored in the Powerplay and that's why the teams are scoring more than 200 more frequently. I have proved how valuable I can be in limited runs in that phase of the game,” Chahar told the Times of India.
Chahar has played all four Ranji Trophy 2024-25 games for Rajasthan and 99 overs with 13 scalps. He mentioned that he was hopeful of CSK going all out for him in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
"I think they (CSK) will bid for me again. I would like to don the yellow jersey again and if not that, then I would want Rajasthan Royals to bid for me," Chahar said.
Deepak Chahar spent 18 months in rehab in the last 3 years dealing with injuries like stress fracture of the back and tears in his quad and groin. However, the pacer is now optimistic about his physical condition and believes that the hard yards he has been putting in lately will help him get his career back on track.