NEWS
How many bowlers do you remember who have taken five or more wickets in their debut match? And what would you say if raised that figure to eight wickets? Find it difficult? Well, we have the answer for you: Deepak Chahar. Yes, you read it right. This young bowler has the distinction of scalping 8 wickets in an innings against Hyderabad on his debut for Rajasthan.
Having been rejected by the ‘legendary’ coach Greg Chappell, who was Director of the Rajasthan Cricket Association academy back in 2008, Deepak Chahar stormed back in style two years later. At the age of 18, he impressed with the eight-wicket haul. However, the wings to his career never attained full flight, with injuries and patchy form blemishing his performance. But his grit and determination for the game brought him back and now he is one of the well-known bowlers in the Indian contingent. In fact, the 26-year old bowler has been shortlisted as one of the four bowlers to feature in the India National Cricket Team nets at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Details | |
---|---|
Full Name | Deepak Chahar |
Age | 26 |
Date of Birth | August 7, 1992 |
Hometown | Agra, Uttar Pradesh |
Height | 5'11" |
Parent | Lokendra Singh Chahar, Florence Chahar |
Batting Style | Right handed |
Bowling Style | Right-arm medium-fast |
Teams Played for | Rajasthan, India B Cricket Team, India national team, Rising Pune Supergiants, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings |
Born in Agra, Chahar played divisional cricket in Hanumangarh in north Rajasthan under the watchful eyes of seasoned coach Navendu Tyagi. His father Lokendra Singh Chahar is a retired Air Force officer. His mother name is Florence was a lawyer.
Hailing from a supportive family – his sister Malti is a model-turned-actress while younger brother Rahul is also a professional cricketer – the Chahars have always backed Deepak and that, perhaps, has helped him shun the odds.
His father has been a big inspiration for Deepak Chahar. From childhood till now, his father has devoted so much time for him. In Agra, his father was constantly working on his son’s bowling and fitness from 4:30 am to 10 pm.
When an 18-year-old grabs 8 wickets on a debut, one is expected to grab attention. Indeed, all the eyes were fixed on the young Deepak who started his career with Rajasthan in Ranji with a bang. Chahar’s impressive swing bowling soon earned him a youth contract with Rajasthan Royals. In October 2016, he worked with International cricket coaches Ian Pont and Catherine Dalton in Jaipur as part of Rajasthan Cricket’s development camp. It was here that he made significant improvements.
In the Plate phase, Deepak Chahar bagged 30 wickets in six matches. In Elite level of 2010-11, he grabbed 21 wickets in eight matches and helped his side to win maiden Ranji Trophy. He also bowled exceptionally well in the 2017-2018 Syed Mushtaq Trophy, scalping 19 wickets in nine matches.
May 2018 is the month that Deepak Chahar will never forget. It was in this month that he was named in India’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the series against England. He made his T20I debut for India on July 8, 2018. He also made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Afghanistan in September of the same year during Asia Cup.
The 2016 and 2017 seasons in the Indian Premier League weren’t great for him although he displayed his potential. In domestic tournaments, he was performing well but it took a while for IPL to notice. Finally, in 208, he was snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings. Because of IPL ban, he was temporarily picked by Rising Pune Supergiants for two seasons. When CSK was back in action, Deepak donned the yellow jersey. And there was no looking back. Chahar soon became his team’s best fast bowler, a weapon that MS Dhoni uses in the opening powerplay overs. His ability to pick up wickets early in the innings have made him the captain’s favourite pacer to open the innings.
M | Inn | B | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Avg | SR | 5W | 10W | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ODI | 1 | 1 | 24 | 37 | 1 | 1/37 | 1/37 | 9.25 | 37.0 | 24.0 | 0 | 0 |
T20I | 1 | 1 | 24 | 43 | 1 | 1/43 | 1/43 | 10.75 | 43.0 | 24.0 | 0 | 0 |
IPL | 30 | 30 | 595 | 763 | 27 | 3/15 | 3/15 | 7.69 | 28.26 | 22.04 | 0 | 0 |
M | Inn | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 200 | 50 | 4s | 6s | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ODI | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 12.0 | 14 | 85.71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
T20I | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
IPL | 31 | 7 | 1 | 71 | 39 | 11.83 | 44 | 161.36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Deepak has long way to don blue jersey. But he is keeping no stones unfold as he is ensuring another Chahar gets to go all the way! Deepak’s younger brother Rahul Chahar has also made his way in cricket and now ply his trades with Mumbai Indians as a spinner. Their father has trained with Deepak for hours to help him hit the next level and Deepak is now guiding his brother to conquer the world.
If Deepak Chahar, who scaled a mountain of glitches to make regular comebacks, continues his hard work, he will surely make his mark in the international team. If he keeps the hunger to learn more while enjoying his game, he will surely be able to iron out the cracks from his bowling armour. It is truly said, “if you have the game, your dream can have a name”. These words hold exactly true for Deepak Chahar.
Recent Post