A difficult phase on the personal front behind him, which sidelined him for a few assignments, Indian seamer Deepak Chahar is all set for a comeback and has set his sights on the T20 World Cup which will be jointly hosted by the United States and the West Indies later this year. .
Chahar had to miss India’s tour of South Africa in December, followed by the home T20Is against Afghanistan, after his father suffered a stroke, from which he has now recovered.
“For me, my father comes first. I am here only because of him. Everything I have accomplished is because of my father. If I am not there for him in these situations, then obviously, what kind of son am I?”, Chahar told PTI in an exclusive interview.
“If the series had been in India, I would have definitely tried to play. You can come to the hospital if you need it within 4-5 hours. But obviously, (from) South Africa , it takes 2-3 days to return.
“It was an easy decision to be with my father: any son would do that,” he added.
Chahar said that although he hadn’t had much time to train outside of fitness-related work, he had been at the NCA to work on his preparation as he eyed a place in the Indian T20 World Cup team.
“I was with my father in the hospital for 25 days. He was not in Agra. He was admitted to Aligarh. We all had to stay there,” he said.
“I could only do a few exercises. I couldn’t do any cricket activities. That’s why I wasn’t ready for the Afghanistan series. I hadn’t trained for about a month .
“After that, I went to the NCA. I resumed my training and now I am in great shape. Everything is fine. I trained very hard for the IPL and the World Cup,” he said. he adds.
Chahar said there was added motivation for him to make his case for selection given that he missed the last two T20 World Cups due to injuries.
“I missed two (T20) World Cups due to my injuries. If I was fully fit, I would have made the World Cup squad as well. In any scenario or (in ) any combination of teams, there is always a “requirement for a bowler who can bat at numbers 7, 8, 9. I did that and scored runs for the Indian team”, did he declare.
Mahi Bhai should play for another 2-3 years
===========================
For someone who shares a special bond with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chahar said he thanks the CSK captain for harnessing his career and giving him longevity, but he doesn’t want the impending retirement of the legend is happening anytime soon.
“It took me 2-3 years to feel 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 times. 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 had the chance to learn a lot of him,” Chahar said.
“I would say it was because of him that I got the chance to play for India because before that he gave me a very big chance to play all 14 matches of the IPL. In 2018, I I played all 14 games.”
Chahar said Dhoni, who has been dealing with a knee injury for around a year, should stop taking extra responsibilities in the CSK lineup at this stage of his career and must look to take advantage of his game.
“Personally, I think he has a lot to give to cricket. He can play another 2-3 seasons. I saw him batting in the nets. Obviously he had an injury that anyone can have, 24 year old people have the same injury that he has.
“He has recovered well. For me personally, he should play for another 2-3 years. (But) it’s his decision. He 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 right now as it is the end of his career. He should enjoy not taking the responsibility and pressure of the team. He has groomed so many cricketers like Ravindra Jadeja and d “Other players, those who can do the job, they are good at it,” Chahar added.
Chahar said players flourish when the environment is good in the team, citing the similarity between the Ranji Trophy-winning Rajasthan team in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
“I felt the same environment when I made my debut in Rajasthan. We won two titles. I still remember the team vibe was very different,” he said.
“You have to create an environment. The players are the same, they don’t change,” he said.
(Only the title and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: January 29, 2024 | 12:03 p.m. STI