‘He’ll play All Matches. Talk about The Rest’, Deepak Chahar Recalls How He Got His First Chance for CSK Under MS Dhoni

Deepak Chahar has become one of the key players for the Chennai Super Kings franchise for the last few years. The pacer recently recalled how he got his first chance in the CSK playing XI during the IPL 2018 edition as MS Dhoni had shown immense faith in his skills.

Deepak Chahar was recently featured on the YouTube show ‘Breakfast with Champions’ where he spoke with host Gaurav Kapur. The CSK pacer recalled how he made his IPL debut for the Rising Pune Supergiant and then got a chance in the Chennai Super Kings’ squad after two years.

Deepak Chahar’s sensational revelation on selection in CSK playing XI

“When I first met Mahi bhai, I was batting. Fleming had selected me for the Pune team, not for my bowling but my batting. On the first day of our camp we had a practice match. I was batting. I came one down. I hit five sixes to score 30 runs and then when I ran to take a run, I injured my hamstring,” Chahar spoke about his stint with Rising Pune Supergiant.

“In the next year when the auction happened, they picked me in the team in 2018. Fleming wanted me to play after a few matches and wanted to include a senior player instead. Then Mahi bhai told him, “He has to play all the 14 matches no matter what. Talk to me about the rest,” the CSK pacer spoke about how MS Dhoni showed trust in him.

It’s worth noting that Deepak Chahar was a part of the RPSG franchise for the IPL 2016 and 2017 editions. He managed to get just 2 games in IPL 2016 under MS Dhoni and 3 more in the next year when Steve Smith had taken over the captaincy role.

CSK head coach Stephen Fleming was reluctant to try Chahar during the IPL 2018 edition as he had experience of playing only 5 IPL games till then. However, MS Dhoni confirmed that he would play in all 14 matches that season.

Deepak Chahar picked 10 wickets in IPL 2018 in 12 matches at an economy rate of just 7.28. Since then he has become a key member of the CSK bowling lineup and has regularly taken crucial wickets for them.