"It was our fault": When Deepak Chahar regretted listing himself as an all-rounder in IPL 2018 draft
Deepak Chahar was on cloud nine after he led Team India to a thrilling win in the 2nd ODI against Sri Lanka. The victory helped India seal the series on a humid night at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
His unbeaten 69 to guide the Men in Blue home has established his credentials as a useful lower-order batter. But back in 2018, Deepak Chahar regretted listing himself as an all-rounder in the IPL draft where he fetched only INR 80 lakhs.
Chahar was snared up by Chennai Super Kings while his younger sibling Rahul Chahar bagged INR 1.9 crores from the Mumbai Indians. While they were happy to see Rahul Chahar receive a bigger cheque, the Chahars felt Deepak Chahar would have fetched more if he had gone in as a bowler.
Lokander Chahar, father of Deepak Chahar, spoke to TOI about the same:
"Humari galti thi (It was our fault). Deepak had filled the form as an allrounder. The allrounder category came late in the day. Rahul went as a bowler. Rahul’s name came early in the auction. Deepak came later. By the time Deepak’s name was called, teams had exhausted a lot of the money otherwise Deepak would have got more than Rs 2 crores.”
“We had an idea that Rahul would draw big bids. It was not a surprise or a fluke that he went for so much,” he added.
Deepak Chahar knows he can't be a one-dimensional cricketer: Lokander Chahar
Deepak Chahar has been working on his batting for quite some time now. He impressed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy leading up to the 2018 IPL auction. During the 2018 IPL season, MS Dhoni promoted Chahar to bat at No.6 during a difficult run chase against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
The all-rounder from Rajasthan responded well with a match-winning 39 off 20 deliveries. Despite his rise in international cricket, Chahar has continued to work on his batting. His father Lokander says it is because Deepak Chahar is aware that he can't be one-dimensional.
“He was batting really well for Rajasthan before he got injured after that tournament. But Deepak knows he can’t be a one-dimensional cricketer,” Lokander said.