Deepak Chahar has talked about playing under MS Dhoni at the Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings registered a five-wicket win in the opening game of their 2020 Indian Premier League campaign against Mumbai Indians. The side rode on the contributions from Sam Curran, Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis as CSK ended a five-match losing streak against MI.
Deepak Chahar, who was also the part of the XI in the game, has now revealed that CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni prefers players who can contribute in each department of the game.
In the match against MI, Sam Curran was impressive with the ball, and Dhoni also opted to send Curran before himself in the run-chase. The English youngster didn't let the captain down as he smashed 18 runs off just six deliveries, which proved key for the side's victory in the game.
"I think Dhoni prefers those who are good in all departments. He likes those who can contribute in batting, bowling and fielding. A bowler can have a bad day but he can change a match by grabbing a good catch or can win the batch with a six or a four," Chahar told former India opener Aakash Chopra in his show 'Aakash Vaani'.
"If you look at our team, we have many players who are good in every department. T20 is a format that requires you to do everything. There are a lot of teams in the IPL which have a strong batting line-up or a strong bowling attack but they remain dependent on a few cricketers. If they do well, they end up winning you matches single-handedly but if they don't, the team struggles," Chahar said.
It was former India captain Dhoni who got Chahar into now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2016 before also drafting him in to three-time winners CSK.
"Generally you don't give the old ball to bowlers who have pace of 120-125 km/h but when I was playing for RPS and even for CSK I was bowling at around 140 but still he didn't give me the ball in the death," Chahar said, throwing light on his initial journey under Dhoni, regarded as one of the greatest white-ball captains of all time.
"I had asked this to Mahi bhai. He gave me a two-word answer and then I couldn't say much. So I asked the bowling coach a couple of times, he also said I should be bowled in the death overs. Finally, I gathered some courage and asked Mahi bhai when he was sitting in a room. He said, 'I groom players' and that's it. He didn't say anything else," Chahar added.
(With inputs from IANS)
