IPL 2023: ‘Mentally it’s very tough to comeback from injuries’, says Deepak Chahar

The last year or so has not been easy on Deepak Chahar. In February 2022, he suffered a back injury that sidelined him out of the last year’s IPL. And just as he was eyeing a T20 World Cup spot on his comeback, he suffered another injury setback that ruled him out of the tournament. He returned for the tour of Bangladesh last December, but he picked up a quad grade 3 tear that ruled him out of the white-ball leg of the home season.
In terms of Chahar’s white-ball future with Team India, there is a lot riding for him at the IPL, where he is the lead pacer for Chennai Super Kings. It hasn’t been a great start; he conceded 55 runs in the Monday game, where he hurled 5 wides that brought the wrath of MS Dhoni. It is a tight spot that Chahar finds himself in; he has a lot to work on his own game apart from guiding the young seamers like Tushar Deshpande, Rajvardhan Hangargekar. On Monday, after he finished his quota of overs, he was stationed at mid-off so that he could be in the ears of Deshpande and Hangargekar.
Chahar has been at that stage himself, when Dhoni, in the absence of Dwayne Bravo in 2019, made the former to bowl at the end overs – something that was out of his comfort zone. For years, irrespective of the team he plays, Chahar has been used mostly in the powerplay where his ability to swing the ball both ways make him lethal. In his first season for Chennai in 2018, Dhoni used him mostly in the powerplay, where he would bowl three overs straight up and have one more – if needed – in the end. In 2019, Bravo’s injury changed all of it.
The 2019 season was also the season where he added the knuckleball, slower-ball bouncer to his armoury – the sort of variety that made Bravo so difficult to pick at the death. And this season with Bravo retired for good and the Super Kings short on experience in the pace department, Chahar has become the vital cog in the wheel.
“I’ve always liked it,” Chahar said of the added responsibility this season. “When I made my Ranji trophy debut in 2010, after the first game, I became the leader of the pace pack. I like when responsibilities are given to me. I take it as a challenge and being the leader means I’m more experienced than others,” he said.
Deepak Chahar in action. (File)
With Bravo and Eric Simmons handling the planning in the drawing room, Chahar just steps in to share knowledge or two that could help the two young bowlers execute their plans. For instance, against Lucknow on Monday, the first time Deshpande and Hangargekar were playing in Chennai, he warned them what to expect.
“While playing in Chennai you sweat a lot after the first over, so you have to put sand in your hands and wipe it properly. Otherwise you could bowl no-balls. So that is the knowledge you could share with the youngsters who haven’t experienced it before,” Chahar said.
Deepak Chahar has many variations. (Source: AP)
At Ahmedabad and as well as Chennai, on flat decks, he couldn’t bowl as full as he usually does to bring swing into play. Without Bravo, and with the need to bowl at death with two extra fielders, he says, he is relishing the challenge.
“I’ve done well for CSK whenever I’ve bowled in the 18th, 19th and 20th over. Before this, my economy was under 8 when I bowled at death. In powerplay you bowl with a new ball and have only 2 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 I also practice a lot. Earlier I didn’t bowl much because we had more options to bowl at the death. Since I’ve many variations — yorker, knuckle ball, slow bouncer, leg-cutter, wide-yorker, off-cutter — you decide according to the batter and the pitch and execute accordingly,” Chahar said.
Deepak Chahar is just focussed on getting back to the basics. (File)
The ongoing IPL is Chahar’s best chance to get back into the national scheme of things. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar not around, the Indian team management was looking at Chahar to take over, but only for injuries to put that plan to the back-burner. With India still struggling for balance, if Chahar ends up having a good IPL, he would definitely be back in the reckoning, especially because he can also contribute with the bat.
For now Chahar is just focussed on getting back to the basics, more so after the injury setbacks. “Mentally it’s very tough. I had two major injuries which are critical for a fast bowler. Other pacers are also struggling with a stress fracture in the back. It takes a long time to recover from. When you start playing it takes time to get back to your best so it takes time mentally and physically, and I’m getting there slowly,” Chahar said.