Deepak Chahar Reveals That He Was Chosen For Pune IPL Team As A Batting All-Rounder

Indian pacer Deepak Chahar had made his Indian Premier League debut for the Rising Pune Supergiant team in the IPL 2016 under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and made a good impression on the public and the captain as well. However, he had revealed that he wasn’t bought by the franchise as a specialist bowler.

Deepak Chahar, the Rajasthan white-ball captain, has made quite a name for himself in the recent year or two. Thanks to his ability to swing the new ball and then come back to bowl excellently at the death overs, he provided the Indian team with a potency that was missing for some while.

Chahar became the first Indian bowler to pick up a hat-trick in T20I format and has the best figures in men’s T20Is, 6/7 against Bangladesh. Currently, Deepak Chahar is preparing for the second half of the Indian Premier League’s 14^th edition (IPL 2021) which begins on September 19 in the UAE, and his team, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), will clash with the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the blockbuster opening match.

I Was Chosen For Pune In The IPL, (Stephen) Fleming Sir Had Actually Selected Me As A Batting All-Rounder: Deepak Chahar

Chahar, who has been named in the Team India reserve players for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021, had quite an impact with the bat as well during India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July when he made an unbeaten half-century in the second ODI match helping India win the match and the take a lead of 2-0 in the three-match series.

While he began his IPL journey with the Rising Pune Supergiant, Deepak Chahar has revealed that the RPS coach Stephen Fleming had picked him for his batting abilities and not for his bowling.

“When I was chosen for Pune in the IPL, (Stephen) Fleming Sir had actually selected me as a batting all-rounder, not a bowling all-rounder. During the first trial game, I scored 48 or 49. Next day, he promoted me to one-down and I scored a half-century. That’s how I was selected in the Pune team,” Deepak Chahar told Chopra on the latter’s YouTube channel.

Chahar further says that he himself wants to become a proper all-rounder given that MS Dhoni, his RPS, and CSK captain values players who contribute in various departments.

“After Pune, I came to CSK. MS Dhoni likes players who can contribute in all departments. In 2018, he sent me ahead of himself in one of the games and I made 40-odd in 19-20 balls. But after that I didn’t get to bat much. I have been working on my batting since 2014 as there is too much competition in bowling. If you contribute with the bat, it gives you an edge during selection,” Deepak Chahar further added.

Chahar will be hoping to make enough splash in the second half of the IPL 2021 and push his way into the 15-member ICC T20 World Cup squad which is to be finalized by October 10^th.

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