I wasn't disappointed on non-selection initially: Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar was with Rajasthan team when he got the news of his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI squad after an injury to Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder sustained a lower back injury against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup and was eventually ruled out of the tournament. Chahar’s inclusion comes after the youngster made his T20I debut couple of months ago in England. However, he cleared that he wasn’t disappointed with his non-selection in the first place.

Chahar did well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and has been on the selectors’ radar since then. His ability to swing the new ball away from the batsmen grabbed the eyeballs of the experts and now has an opportunity to stake his claim for a place in the World Cup squad. Though it remains to be seen if he will get a nod in any of the matches in the Asia Cup.

“I was confident of selection. One cannot be sad when ignored for a series. If a player misses out on IPL or Ranji Trophy, which happens once a year, missing out gives you a sad feeling. But, once you are on the India radar, selections and tours happen very frequently. So, you are always under the selectors’ eyesight,” he said while speaking to Sportstar.

Dhoni helped me a lot

MS Dhoni is doing a world of good to Indian cricket by boosting the confidence of the youngsters. Earlier, even Siddarth Kaul thanked him for the guidance and now Deepak Chahar has said that he learnt a lot from the veteran while playing in the IPL. Dhoni had backed him a lot during the tournament and also praised him after one of the matches.

“More than on the field, I have learnt a lot off the field from Dhoni. I spent a lot of time in his room as I had adjacent rooms during the IPL. It is very interesting to note how he thinks about cricket, off the field. It is heartening to know that I have Dhoni’s backup. He has a lot of confidence in me. Just before the IPL, Dhoni had actually told someone that I will play all matches. It is a huge thing to have the skipper’s confidence,” Chahar added.

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