“Yeh 14 Ke 14 Match Khelega”: MS Dhoni’s Personal Favourite, Deepak Chahar, Reveals He Was a Guaranteed Pick in CSK’s Playing XI

During a recent episode of renowned presenter Gaurav Kapur’s popular chat show Breakfast with Champions, team India and Chennai Super Kings bowling all-rounder Deepak Chahar revealed how MS Dhoni likes to have players in his team who can bat and bowl as well.

Thus, he had managed to have Dhoni’s attention during the 2016 edition of the IPL, when the latter had skippered the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants. While a hamstring injury during one of the practice sessions had meant that he could not fit into the team’s combination during the season, Dhoni had made sure to have his services during the 2018 season.

Such valuable was his role considered by Dhoni and the franchise, that after being initially roped in at INR 80 Lakh ahead of 2018 auction, the 30-year-old was paid 17 times more (INR 14 crore) during the mega auction last year.

MS Dhoni’s Personal Favourite, Deepak Chahar, Reveals He Was a Guaranteed Pick in CSK’s Playing XI

As part of the engaging conversation, the fast bowler further revealed that CSK’s head coach Stephen Fleming had considered to include him in the Playing XI after a few initial matches of IPL 2018.

However, as if blindly trusting in his ability, Dhoni decided to intervene and specifically state that Chahar would play all the league stage matches. As per his claim, CSK’s CEO Kasi Viswanathan would later disclose to him that his name would always appear first in the playing XI team sheet.

“[Stephen] Fleming ko tha ki isko ek-do match baad khilate hain. Phir Mahi bhai ne bola tha yeh to khelega hi khelega, 14 ke 14 match khelega. Iske alawa baat karo. Phir mujhe Kasi sir ne bhi bataya tha ki jab team likhi 2018 ki, to sabse pehla naam tera hi likhata tha [Stephen Fleming was of the opinion that I should play after a couple of matches. Then Mahi bhai intervened and remarked that he shall play all the 14 league matches, and to discuss about players apart from him. Later Kasi sir would tell me that whenever a team sheet was prepared during the 2018 season, my name would be written right at the top of the list].”

Deepak Chahar’s Performance In IPL 2018

Not 14, but Deepak did play 12 matches for CSK during the 2018 IPL season. He had scalped 10 wickets across these matches at an impressive economy rate of 7.28 runs per over.

His miserly bowling during the powerplay throughout the season had played a significant role in helping the ‘Yellow Army’ lift their third IPL title.