[Watch] IPL 2025: Mahela Jayawardene presents "Maverick" award to Deepak Chahar for outing against CSK

Mumbai Indians Head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, presented the "Maverick" award to all-rounder, Deepak Chahar, for his all-round display against former franchise, Chennai Super Kings, after Mumbai Indians' tournament opener against their arch-rivals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Chahar contributed a vital 28 runs off 15 deliveries with the bat before dismissing Rahul Tripathi in his first over of the game.

Jayawardene complimented Chahar's performance in combination with his on-field temperament on his return to the Chepauk against a franchise he represented for seven consecutive seasons. He admitted to finding MI the "most difficult team to beat" while playing against them in the past. He also promised to deliver similar performances in the upcoming games.      

Mumbai Indians@mipaltan

A 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 debut for MI to win a special award ✨ You were truly a 𝕄𝔸𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕀ℂ𝕂 last night, Deepak 💙 #MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai #TATAIPL #CSKvMI

04:05 PM · Mar 24, 2025

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"Today for me, there were (a) few things - he came back to his old franchise, he batted, he promised that he will bat, he bowled with passion, he fielded with passion, he showed a lot of attitude. For me, that's maverick, that's putting the body on the line, putting everything on the line for your teammates. So, today's maverick is Deepak Chahar," remarked Jayawardene in the dressing room post MI's four-wicket loss. 

Chahar said: "I just want to say I've played a lot of cricket against MI and I always thought it's the most difficult team to beat. I wanted to live to that standard where you know, when you enter the ground, the other team should be scared of you. I think this is what I've seen and this is what I'll do in (the) upcoming games."

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MI travel to Ahmedabad to face Gujarat Titans next. Their first home game of the season will be against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, March 31. Chahar and the rest of the team would be keen on enhancing their performances going forward.