MS Dhoni suggested me to focus on my batting on the day he announced retirement: Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar has been a revelation in recent times with both bat and ball and he has already won a game for India from nowhere last year with his batting credentials. The swing bowler from Rajasthan came into the setup as a pure bowler at first, but later showed his batting skills which have been a great plus for CSK as well as India. He has been seen as an all-rounder now and a lot of it has to do with MS Dhoni suggesting Deepak Chahar to improve his batting.

Chahar wasn’t retained by the CSK side ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction and the franchise had to spend a whopping INR 14 crore to bring him back in the side. He is one of the standout seamers in the last three to four seasons and his ability to swing it both ways makes him a match-winner with the ball. However, his batting abilities have brought a lot of smiles in the Indian dugout.

You haven’t justified your batting – Deepak Chahar reveals Dhoni’s words

Coming back to MS Dhoni’s suggestion, Deeepak Chahar noted that the CSK skipper wanted him to concentrate more on his batting and reckoned that he has a lot to prove yet with the bat. Dhoni has been a master in identifying talent on display and he had a big part in ensuring Deepak Chahar’s growth in the side as a powerplay bowler.

“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 told SportsYaari on their YouTube channel.

Chahar went on to reveal about having a lot of time to work on his batting in his younger days and noted that he was batting at his peak during those days. His unbeaten 69 in 82 balls to take India home against Sri Lanka in the second ODI last year will be remembered for a long time and a lot will be expected from him every time he gets into the crease to bat.

“I have been batting since I was young and this pursuit of being an all-rounder had started back then itself. In 2017-18, I used to bat better because I was at home and so I used to practice batting a lot. In fact, I used to focus more on batting than bowling because there was a limit on the number of balls you would bowl in one day because doing more would take a toll on your body,” he added.