Deepak Chahar gears up for IPL with eyes set on T20 World Cup

Deepak Chahar played only one T20 international last year and had to skip the South Africa white-ball tour for personal reasons.

FILE PHOTO: India’s Deepak Chahar during the fourth T20I match between India and Australia. | Photo Credit: PTI

Indian pacer Deepak Chahar is raring to go in the upcoming Indian Premier League, knowing it could help him get in contention for the T20 World Cup later in the year in the USA and the West Indies.

The 31-year-old played only one T20 international last year and had to skip the South Africa white-ball tour for personal reasons.

“I took some time out because of my father’s illness. After that, I started practising. The next six months are crucial with the IPL and World Cup,” said Chahar on the sidelines of an event in the city to announce Etihad Airways’ partnership with Chennai Super Kings.

“It is an important IPL because everyone knows the Indian team will be picked based on the performances in the IPL. Otherwise, most of the time, you have the set-up, and you know already these are the players we are going to look for. But this IPL, whoever performs well will get the chance,” he added.

Despite missing out on national duty, Chahar saw the bright side of things in that he could train while being fully fit.

“I have not got the time to be fit and do training. In the last two and a half years, I was either playing or doing rehab. You need to train when you are fully fit. When you’re doing rehab and just playing, you are not gaining strength. You are losing strength in your body. So, this is the right time for me or any athlete; when you get one-and-a-half months or two months, you need to gain strength.

“If you gain strength, you increase your pace as well. When I played in 2018, I was bowling at around 140 kph. When you are playing regularly, you don’t get the chance to do strength training, and your pace decreases. So, this is the right time for me to increase my pace. Skill-wise, I have obviously been doing well with batting and bowling,” he explained.

Apart from his ability to swing the new ball, Chahar also adds depth to the batting line-up and has proven this in the past with his valuable contributions down the order.

FILE PHOTO: Deepak Chahar in action for Chennai Super Kings during IPL 2023. | Photo Credit: RAGU R/The Hindu

“It doesn’t matter whether you get batting or not. If the batter who is batting ahead of you knows we have support at the back, that makes a huge difference to the team and the confidence of the batter who is batting ahead of you. When batters have that confidence in me that I can come and contribute with the bat, that’s what you want in a T20 game,” Chahar remarked on the value he can bring to the team with his ability with the bat.

“I am trying to develop a few shots with the bat, too, because when you bat at No. 8 or No. 9, you only get to play 3-4 balls. So you have to utilise those balls with different shots,” he added.

When asked if he is worried about going down in the pecking order after missing crucial series like the one in South Africa, the Super Kings pacer said, “I know I bring value to them with bat and ball whenever I play for any side. You need that confidence if you want to make a comeback. Thinking about others going ahead is extra pressure I don’t want to take. I know if I am 100 per cent fit and playing matches, I will do better than others. That’s how I think. If I am fit and available for selection, I think I will be selected.”