Indian pacer Deepak Chahar has left many surprised with his batting expertise during the second ODI of the ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, but his father Lokendra Chahar wasn’t surprised at all as he knew the latter’s ability with the bat from the younger days.
The second ODI against Sri Lanka brought Chahar – the all-rounder – into the limelight when his unbeaten knock of 69 guided the Indian cricket team to a thrilling 3 wickets win over the hosts in Colombo on July 20 and everyone is just praising the 28-year-old for his batting.
Deepak's father, Lokendra Chahar, who is a cricket coach and coached Deepak during his younger days, said the seamer has always been considered himself as an all-rounder, but he didn’t get the opportunities to bat up to the order.
He also mentioned that it was his fault that he didn’t train the bowler for the lower order where he used to bat for both India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Senior Chahar told IANS on Wednesday (July 21): “People are surprised. I am not surprised. When we were training him, the priority was bowling but we also told him to take batting seriously. My idea was to have him bowl at 140 kmph, swing the ball both ways and also make him bat as a batsman.”
He further added, “Honestly, he didn't get opportunities to bat up the order all these years. He would walk in to bat at the end of an innings where there would be only a few balls left. I consider it my fault that we groomed him bat as a No. 3 and No.4 batsman in his younger days so he developed this habit of waiting to settle in and didn't learn to use the long handle straightaway.”
Meanwhile, Chahar’s coach Navendu Tyagi told IANS: “He was batsman right from the start, but never got the responsibility. We worked on his batting as much as his bowling. His father always used to emphasise on batting due to its usefulness in IPL. When he was playing up the order, he always had the temperament.”
Mr. Chahar also credited CSK captain, MS Dhoni, for giving him a lot of confidence by showing support during the IPL. He said, “Dhoni has given him a lot of confidence. He gave him the new ball too this season and asked him to bowl all his four overs in one spell.”
The proud was happy to see finally his 15 years of labour is paying off and the world could see Chahar’s batting expertise. He signed off, “I used to get angry to see that his all-round potential is not getting fulfilled. But I am glad that the world could see the batsman in him. My 15 years of labour is paying off.”
(With IANS Inputs)
