Deepak Chahar – From a Powerplay Specialist to Dhoni’s go-to bowler at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Deepak Chahar, also called Cherry by his Chennai Super Kings fans, has been the spearhead of the pace attack for the yellow brigade since 2018. Being a part of Rising Pune Supergiants for two IPL seasons (2016 and 2017), Chahar was on the radar of Dhoni and Fleming ahead of the 2018 auctions and in […]
 
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Deepak Chahar – From a Powerplay Specialist to Dhoni’s go-to bowler at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Deepak Chahar, also called Cherry by his Chennai Super Kings fans, has been the spearhead of the pace attack for the yellow brigade since 2018. Being a part of Rising Pune Supergiants for two IPL seasons (2016 and 2017), Chahar was on the radar of Dhoni and Fleming ahead of the 2018 auctions and in the 2 years with the Super Kings since then, Chahar has made a huge impact and earned a call-up to the national side on the back of his impressive performances as well.

Also Read: CSK players Deepak Chahar, Ruturaj Gaikwad tested positive for COVID-19, BCCI delays announcement of IPL schedule

Chahar will be itching to continue his purple patch for the men in yellow in IPL 2020 as well. As we near the start of the season, we look at how Deepak has performed for the Super Kings and how significant he is going to be in the upcoming season for his side.

Deepak Chahar started the 2018 season with a sensational over to Rohit Sharma, where he displayed his ability to swing the ball both ways. Throughout the season, Chahar bowled 38 overs, out of which only 6 overs were in middle overs and the rest in powerplays.

He maintained an economy of 7.33 in the powerplays while picking up 10 wickets, which was the second-most after Umesh Yadav’s 14 wickets. Coming into the 2019 edition, Chahar picked as many as 15 wickets in powerplays, while no other bowler reached the double figures.

Deepak Chahar – From a Powerplay Specialist to Dhoni’s go-to bowler at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Deepak Chahar – From a Powerplay Specialist to Dhoni’s go-to bowler at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

In 2019, when Bravo got injured, Dhoni had no options but to bowl Deepak at the death. After starting his death bowling with a terrible no-ball, Chahar made an impressive comeback in the remaining overs against KXIP.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Ian Pont sheds light on how Deepak Chahar became the ultimate powerplay weapon

Throughout the season, Chahar bowled a total of 9.3 overs and picked 7 wickets while maintaining an impressive economy of 8.21. The fact that he bowled all his overs were in overs 18-20 makes his numbers even more impressive.

Overall, out of the 102.4 overs, he has bowled for CSK, almost 80% have come in powerplays and 9% in death (all of which were in 2019).

 

Deepak Chahar – From a Powerplay Specialist to Dhoni’s go-to bowler at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Among bowlers who have bowled in a minimum of 10 innings with more than 50% of their balls in overs 18-20 since 2016 in IPL, Chahar has the best Relative Strike Rate (SR in comparison to all bowlers in the games he has played).

He takes nearly 9 balls less than others to pick a wicket while conceding nearly 1 run less. The numbers are enough evidence of Chahar’s improvement as a complete T20 bowler and not just remain as a powerplay specialist. The death over magnificence from Chahar was a huge reason why CSK managed to close out a number of crunch games last season.

Deepak Chahar – From a Powerplay Specialist to Dhoni’s go-to bowler at Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Chahar’s overall relative economy is -0.58, i.e, he conceded 0.58 runs less than all other bowlers in the games he has played. His wicket-taking ability in powerplays, as well as death overs, makes him one of the most important cogs in the wheel for CSK.

Also Read: IPL postponement has given me more time to recover: Deepak Chahar

Though his powerplay economy can be slightly better, the wicket-taking ability is what makes him such a great asset. Chahar has picked a wicket in 3.74 balls less than any other bowler in powerplays in the games he has played. He is yet to pick a wicket in the middle overs but has been economical enough; Chahar concedes 1.03 runs less per over and takes nearly 3 balls more than others to concede a boundary.

Cometh the thirteenth edition, Deepak Chahar will be eager to perform for his team like he has done for the past couple of years, doing everything to perfection what his captain has asked for. The ever-smiling Cherry with the new ball, and at the death, is certainly one of the bowlers to watch out for this season and a Purple Cap contender too.