How MS Dhoni's stern advice worked for Deepak Chahar; 'One day Mahi bhai said to me...'

Team India all-rounder Deepak Chahar became one of the biggest selling players at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 Auction, following Chennai Super Kings (CSK)’s bid to buy him for a whopping Rs 14 crore. Chahar rose through the ranks of Indian cricket after winning the Indian Premier League(IPL) title in 2018 with CSK under the leadership of legendary skipper MS Dhoni. Meanwhile, speaking to Sports Yaari on their YouTube channel, Chahar revealed a conversation he had with the CSK skipper on the day Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020.

Chahar said that MS Dhoni brought it to his notice that he has to justify his batting, despite having done a good job with the ball. “One day Mahi bhai said to me… 'you have done a good job with the bowling but haven't justified your batting. I think you should do that'. He told me the day he announced his retirement. We were sitting in the evening and talking. Dhoni said I should focus more on batting,” Chahar added. The 28-year-old admitted that his batting was once better than his bowling, however, lack of match practice and fewer chances to bat didn’t help his cause.

Dhoni’s advice seems to have hit the right chords with Chahar as he is now counted among the best all-rounders for India, alongside Shardul Thakur and others. He scored his first international half-century for India during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year, where he played a gritty knock of 69 runs off 82 balls. He scored his second half-century during the ODI series against South Africa, by hitting 54 runs in 34 balls at a strike rate of 158.82. Most recently, he played a run-a-ball knock of 38 runs in 38 balls during the third ODI match at Ahmedabad on February 11.

Deepak Chahar recalls knock against Sri Lanka

Speaking to Sports Yaari, Chahar also shed light on his important innings of 69 runs against Sri Lanka. “When I scored that half-century against Sri Lanka, I started off very slowly. In the first 25-30 balls, I didn't even play shots because I wasn't confident myself of them coming off. Before that, for the previous 5-6 months, I hadn't batted. But when you play regularly and do well in matches, the rhythm starts returning,” Chahar said.

(Image: IPL/BCCI)