"I take it as a challenge and also practice a lot" - Deepak Chahar on bowling at death
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) new-ball bowler Deepak Chahar has underlined that he works a lot on his death bowling despite knowing he has done decently in the area. The 30-year-old underlined that he has taken this up as a challenge and works on it consistently.
Chahar is one of the best new-ball bowlers going around in T20 cricket today, capable of swinging the ball both ways. Hence, captains mostly use his overs upfront to get wickets. With CSK lacking options, the right-arm seamer has had to bowl at the death.
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In an interaction as quoted on CSK's official website, Chahar said:
"I’ve done well for CSK whenever I’ve bowled in the 18th, 19th and 20th overs. Before this, my economy was under eight when I bowled at the death. In the powerplay, you bowl with a new ball and have only two fielders outside whereas in the slog overs, you bowl with an old ball and have five fielders outside.
"I take it as a challenge and also practice a lot. Earlier, I didn’t bowl much because we had more options to bowl at the death."
The Agra-born cricketer claimed that he loves the weight of responsibilities and tries to give his best. As the leader of the pace attack, the 30-year-old also believes in helping the youngsters.
"I have always liked it (responsibilities). When I made my Ranji Trophy debut in 2010, after the first game I became the leader of the attack. I like when responsibilities are given to me and I take it up as a challenge and I try and do whatever I can do.
"Even yesterday (against Lucknow Super Giants), I gave the bowlers some advice like, when you play in Chennai you sweat a lot, and after the first over or after every ball, you have to put a little bit of sand in your hand and wipe it properly."
Chahar has regularly struggled with injuries of late and last played for India in December 2022 against Bangladesh. He was in line to play in the T20 World Cup last year, but injuries struck at the wrong time.
"If you pitch it up, it will swing more" - Deepak Chahar
Speaking of swing bowling, the 30-year-old believes pitching it full is key to finding it. He added:
"Swing is always in the air. You will always find it in the first over but if the wicket is flat, you cannot pitch it up. If you pitch it up, it will swing more, if you bowl short, it will not swing, as you are giving less time for the ball to swing. So, if you have something from the wicket you can bowl fuller."
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The right-arm seamer is yet to take a wicket in two games in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League.