Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pace bowler Deepak Chahar has opened up about his skipper MS Dhoni and their bond. Having played for the Rising Pune Supergiants with Dhoni in 2016 and 2017, Chahar was picked up by CSK in 2018 as well. The pace bowler has since been part of the franchise under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Notably, Chahar was a key player in CSK’s title wins in 2018, 2021, and 2023, picking up 37 wickets across the three seasons as well.
In an interview with the PTI, Chahar said, “It took me 2-3 years to get comfortable around him (Dhoni). I see him as an elder brother and I think he treats me as a younger brother. We have our fun moments. During lockdown, we played a lot of PUBG together. We played a lot of games together. We spent a lot of time together off the field. I’ve been lucky to learn so much from him. I would say because of him only I got a chance to play for India because before that, he gave me a really big chance to play all the 14 games in IPL. In 2018, I played all the 14 games.”
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The speedster has become MS Dhoni’s go-to bowler, especially with the new ball, and his ability to strike early in the powerplay always helped. Chahar has 72 wickets in his IPL career which came at an average of 28.04 and an economy of under eight in an over. However, Deepak Chahar also believes captain MS Dhoni should play for another two to three years and added that it would be a challenge for all the CSK players once he retires.
“He has recovered well. For me personally, he should play for another 2-3 years. (But) it’s his call. He told everyone he is going to play his last game in Chennai. I think he will only decide. For us, it will be very difficult to play for CSK without him. Everyone has (always) seen CSK with Mahi bhai,” concluded Deepak Chahar. “He should be enjoying not taking responsibility and pressure for the team. He should not be taking it at this time because it is the end of his career. He has prepared so many cricketers like Ravindra Jadeja and other players, those who can do that job, they are good at it.”
