THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For Deepak Chahar, what matters most is to learn from success and failure alike, without getting carried away.
After becoming the first Indian to claim a T20I hat-trick, he went on to take four wickets in an over against Vidarbha in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, two days later. This was followed by three in an over against Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. On Friday against Kerala, he had a quieter day and finished with 2/29 as Rajasthan romped to a win.
For Chahar, it was another chance to improve. “I learnt early in my career that the day you stop improving, your cricket will go down. I just think about improving as a bowler. Let it be variations, let it be pace or swing, or action, it is about improving every day.”
His 6/7 against Bangladesh, the best figures in T20Is, and death-bowling skills were much talked about. The 27-year-old is happy that his efforts are being acknowledged.
“It feels good (that people are talking about you) because T20 is almost always about batsmen. You can’t think that a bowler will win you a match because he’s got just four overs and there is nothing (in a T20 match) for the fast bowlers. Things are happening and it is going my way at the moment,” said Chahar.
Chahar is known more for his new-ball abilities, but his performance against Bangladesh proved that he can get the job done in the death overs. He recalls how MS Dhoni played a role in this evolution.
In the last IPL edition, when Chennai Super Kings were playing Kings XI Punjab, Chahar was thrown the ball in the 19th over when the game was in the balance.
The pacer ended up bowling two back-to-back no-balls and gave away two free hits. Dhoni walked up to him and chided him. That was the turning point according to Chahar.
“I was bowling for the first time at the death. Before that, no one had used me at death. That was a crucial over for me and I bowled two no-balls. He (Dhoni) was angry with the selection of the ball. But it really helped me because after coming back from there, I think I gave away only six runs after that and we won that match. After that, I was bowling the 19th over for Chennai in every match. So Mahi bhai had that confidence in me. Coming back from that pressure, for someone who has never bowled at the death, I’ve come a long way,” said Chahar.
He also zeroed in on yorkers as an area for improvement.