Deepak Chahar, pacer from India
A challenging phase on a personal front behind him that has sidelined him for a few assignments, India seamer Deepak Chahar is ready for a comeback and has set his sights on the T20 World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the United States later this year States and the West Indies. .
Chahar had to miss India’s tour of South Africa in December, followed by the home T20Is against Afghanistan, after his father suffered a cerebral stroke, from which he has now recovered.
“For me, my father comes first. I am here only because of him. Whatever I have achieved is because of my father. If I am not there for him in such situations, what kind of son am I? ” Chahar told PTI in an exclusive interview.
“If the series had been in India, I would definitely have tried to play. You can get to the hospital in 4-5 hours if you need to. But obviously (from) South Africa it takes 2-3 days to get back to come.
“It was an easy decision to stay with my father; any son would do that,” he added.
Chahar said that while he did not get much time to train, apart from fitness-related work, he went to the NCA to work on his preparedness as he eyes a spot in the Indian T20 World Cup squad.
“I was with my father in the hospital for 25 days. He was not in Agra. He was admitted in Aligarh. We all had to stay there,” he said.
“I could only do some practices. I couldn’t do any cricket activities. That’s why I wasn’t ready for the Afghanistan series. I hadn’t practiced for about a month.
“After that, I joined the NCA. I started training again and now I am completely fit again. Everything is going well. I have trained very hard for the IPL and the World Cup,” he added.
Chahar said there is extra motivation for him to put himself forward for selection as he has missed the last two T20 World Cups due to injuries.
“I have missed two (T20) World Cups due to my injuries. If I had been fully fit, I would have been part of the World Cup team too. In any scenario or (in) any team combination, there is always a requirement for a bowler who can batting at number 7, 8, 9. I have done that and scored runs for the Indian team,” he said.
Mahi bhai should play for another two to three years
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For someone who shares a special bond with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chahar said he credits the CSK captain for leveraging his career and prolonging it, but he doesn’t want the legend’s impending retirement to be sidelined anytime soon.
“It took me two-three years to get comfortable with him (Dhoni). I see him as an elder brother and I think he treats me like a younger brother,” he said.
“We have our fun moments. During the lockdown, we played a lot of PUBG together. We played a lot of games together. We spent a lot of time together off the field. I was lucky to learn so much from him,” Chahar said.
“I would say it was only because of him that I got the opportunity to play for India because before that he gave me a very big opportunity to play all fourteen matches in the IPL. In 2018, I played all fourteen matches.”
Chahar said Dhoni, who has been battling a knee injury for the past year or so, should stop taking extra responsibility in the CSK set-up at this stage of his career and try to enjoy his game.
“Personally, I think he has a lot to offer to cricket. He can play another two to three seasons. I have seen him bat in the nets. Obviously he had an injury that anyone can have, people at the age of 24 have the same injury.” that he has.
“He has recovered well. For me personally, he should play another two to three years. But it is his decision. He has told everyone that he will play his last match in Chennai. I think he will only decide. For us “It will be very difficult to play for CSK without him. Everyone has (always) seen CSK with Mahi bhai,” Chahar said.
“He should not take it at this time because it is the end of his career. He should enjoy not taking responsibility and pressure for the team. He has prepared so many cricketers like Ravindra Jadeja and other players, the ones who can.” work, they are good at it,” Chahar added.
Chahar said players thrive when the environment is good in the team, citing the similarity between the Ranji Trophy-winning side Rajasthan in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
“I felt the same environment when I made my debut for Rajasthan. We won two titles. I still remember the atmosphere within the team was very different,” he said.
“You have to create an environment. Players are the same, players don’t change,” he said.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: January 29, 2024 | 12:03 pm IST