Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar - IPL factfile

- Deepak Chahar made his IPL debut in 2016 for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant/s, playing five games for them across two seasons. He was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of IPL 2018 and stayed with them till 2024, a stint that included three trophies, in IPL 2018, IPL 2021 and IPL 2023.

- When he was released by CSK at the end of IPL 2024, he sat at No. 4 on their list of all-time top wicket-takers, with 76 wickets in as many matches and an economy rate of 7.91. Chahar was CSK's primary powerplay bowler for the best part of his stay with the team.

- IPL 2019 was Chahar's best season, when he picked up 22 wickets in 17 matches to finish third on the Purple Cap list.

- Chahar was the second-most expensive buy at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022, with CSK buying him back for INR 14 crore. A back injury, however, ruled him out of the entire season.

- CSK released him before the 2024 mega auction after an injury-ridden 2024 season when he played eight games for just five wickets. Mumbai Indians (MI) then bought him for INR 9.25 crore.

Deepak Chahar player profile

Deepak Chahar is a classical swing bowler who added T20 smarts to his game to pick up 6 for 7 against Bangladesh in 2019, then the best bowling figures in T20Is.

After making a sensational first-class cricket debut for Rajasthan in 2010-11, taking 8 for 10 in Hyderabad's 21 all out, Chahar struggled with injuries and fitness. He then rediscovered himself as a T20 bowler, blossoming under the captaincy of MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings' triumphant return to the IPL in 2018. He did even better next season, finishing third on the wickets table, with 22 at a strike rate of 17.5, including 3 for 26 in the final. Super Kings paid US$1.8 million to keep him at the 2022 auction. However, a back injury ruled him out of that season's IPL and from the T20 World Cup, for which he was in the reserves, later in the year.

A bowler in the mould of Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chahar learned swing bowling at his father's coaching academy. Dhoni used him shrewdly with the new ball, often bowling him for three overs in the powerplay. Chahar also kept working on his other skills and turned himself into a capable bowler at the death, which was evident in that record-breaking spell against Bangladesh: four of his six wickets, including a hat-trick, came with a wet old ball in dewy conditions.

Chahar is also a handy lower-order batter. In an ODI in Colombo in July 2021, he steered India's chase with an unbeaten 69 from No. 8.