Rajasthan’s leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was an integral part of the India U19 side but left with a broken heart when he was dropped out from the 2017 U19 World Cup squad.
However, the 18-year-old showed some maturity, despite losing the huge opportunity to represent his country at the highest level, forgetting the pain of missing World Cup, and went on to join the Mumbai camp, which was held just before the IPL Auction 2018, to try his luck.
However, it was not easy for the youngster, but he proved himself in the trial games, showing the fighting spirit and got picked up by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for a whopping Rs 1.9 crore during the auction.
Rahul’s father Desh Raj Chahar revealed that the family didn’t wish to force him to play in the Mumbai’s trial matches, but the young leg-spinner insisted that he did not want to sit and think about the lost opportunity, but want to go out and perform, saying “his efforts have been rewarded”.
Desh Raj told CricketNext on Friday (13 April), “It isn’t easy when you even shoot for the promos with the rest of the squad and then you are told that you missed the cut. In fact, initially, I thought he is playing a prank. But I soon realized that he was being honest.
But even before he could overcome this situation, the trials were on in Mumbai and he had to go and play. While we did wish that he would show fighting spirit and go there, we did not want to force him. But to everyone’s surprise, he showed great character and went ahead to play. We are very proud that he is now part of a franchise like Mumbai Indians. It is his efforts that have been rewarded.”
He also revealed that India U19 coach Ravid Dravid had called him after Chahar wasn’t picked in the World Cup squad that really helped the youngster to move on from that, and make the strong comeback at the Mumbai camp ahead of the IPL Auction 2018.
Mr. Raj further added, “Rahul Sir called him after he wasn’t picked in the team and personally told him that these little hurdles in life don’t mean anything in the long run and that it was an opportunity for Rahul to come back stronger. I feel that was important because it showed that even though he missed out, Dravid had faith in his abilities. At such a young age, these things matter.”
Meanwhile, Rahul’s father also revealed that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) paceman Deepak Chahar's father — is his son’s coach, and he never forgets to look his off-field activities. The Proud father also wants to see his son in the national jersey, hoping Rahul will fulfill his dream very soon.
He signed off by saying, “His uncle is his coach, but I ensured that I look after his daily habits like eating, sleeping etc. Staying fit as an athlete is very important and that is where I would guide him. Also, I would take him for his games and then keep a close look to discuss the finer details with my brother and Rahul. I have always wished to see him play for the country and hopefully, he will fulfill that dream soon.”
