"I have had just one bad T20I game in my career"- Deepak Chahar [Exclusive]
Deepak Chahar has emerged as one of the few genuine exponents of swing bowling that India currently have at their disposal. The 28-year-old has been impressive on many occasions due to his ability to move the ball both ways.
With the IPL 2021 season coming to a standstill, Deepak Chahar is currently focusing on getting fit for a possible India comeback in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, which is expected to be played in July.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Deepak Chahar spoke about his early cricketing days, his performances so far for the Men In Blue, chances of possibly playing Test cricket, and much more.
Deepak Chahar on his best bowling performance
Deepak Chahar has 126 wickets in 45 first-class games and has established himself as a stalwart in the Rajasthan domestic team. However, former director of the Rajasthan Cricket Academy Greg Chappell hadn't even considered the pacer among the top 50 bowlers in the state back in 2008.
That very year, Deepak Chahar took an eight-wicket haul for Rajasthan against Hyderabad and bowled them out for just 21 runs. While many would consider this his most memorable performance, Chahar had something else to say about it.
"As far as I can remember, there was an U19 match in Ratnagiri against Maharashtra. Sometimes the number of wickets does not justify the kind of bowling you have done. I believe that was my best performance," Deepak Chahar revealed.
Deepak Chahar's magical spell against Bangladesh
After impressing for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their victorious IPL 2018 season, Deepak Chahar got his maiden India call-up. But it was a year later against Bangladesh where he really left a huge mark on the history of Indian cricket.
Deepak Chahar picked up a hat-trick and recorded stupendous figures of 6-7, which made him the bowler with the best T20I figures ever. The then 27-year-old, who seemed to be overly reliant on swing bowling upfront, played the role of bowling at the death to perfection. He recalled:
"That was one game where I didn't bowl with the new ball. I bowled the fourth over in the powerplay and later came back at the death. I had to go back more on my variations and it was indeed a great day. Records are something that is not in your control and I was lucky enough to make two on a single day. "
Deepak Chahar on his T20I career so far
Deepak Chahar has taken 18 wickets in just 13 T20Is that he has played, at a decent economy rate of 7.56. Many believe he was dropped from the Indian team for the England T20Is at home because of his supposedly average performance with the ball Down Under.
But Chahar believes just one off-day shouldn't tarnish his performances for the Men In Blue so far. He feels it is natural to have one bad game and his focus is on performing at his best whenever he gets his next opportunity.
"I have had two Man of the Match awards and a man of the series award in 13 T20Is for India. For a fast bowler in the T20s, this is a very good record. So basically I had just one bad game against Australia where I leaked 46 runs. That is the most out of all the T20s that I have ever played. People say that my Australia series didn't go well, which is not true. I only had one bad game and I think that's natural to happen. I like that everyone has high expectations of me," Deepak Chahar explained.
Chahar is also pretty practical as far as his hopes of making it to the T20 World Cup squad. He understands there is a lot of competition in the Indian team for places and he is hopeful of performing well if he is recalled for the Sri Lanka tour. He added:
"I play each game for India like it is my last. I didn't get a chance in the series against England which shows the level of competition for places in the fast bowling department. So if my selection happens for the series against Sri Lanka, my focus will be to perform to the best of my ability and not worry about whether I will make it to the T20 World Cup squad or not."
Deepak Chahar on his dreams of playing Test cricket
Being an excellent exponent of swing bowling, Deepak Chahar was certainly one of the contenders to make his Test debut for an injury-ravaged Indian team in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, the likes of Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and T Natarajan played ahead of him.
But instead of getting disheartened, Chahar is keen to remain patient and continue doing what he does best, which is letting his bowling do the talking. He is fascinated by the prospect of bowling in overseas conditions where it helps the swing bowlers. However, Chahar isn't worrying too much and wants to stay in the present.
"I don't worry about the things that aren't in my control. I wasn't there in the red-ball team so I can't really speak about my chances of playing in that series. I always feel that bowling with the Dukes' ball will be really fun with conditions in England, New Zealand, etc. aiding the swing bowlers. So naturally, I do aspire to play Test cricket for India," Deepak Chahar concluded.