OTD | India and CSK’s star seamer Deepak Chahar was born in 1992

Team India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fast bowler Deepak Chahar is celebrating his 32nd birthday on August 7. He is one of the most talked about swing bowlers in India after Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Chahar is not someone who can bowl extremely fast, but he can consistently bowl at 135-140 kph and trouble the batters with a fearsome swing.

Born in 1992 in Agra, Chahar burst into the scene by picking up 8 wickets in his debut innings for Rajasthan in domestic cricket. The right-arm pacer was part of Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League, but his career witnessed steady growth since his signing with CSK in the 2018 auction.  

Like any other player, the injury was Chahar’s nemesis. He worked hard to enjoy a brilliant outing in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018 which impressed the CSK management. He represented the five-time champions in 81 matches and took 77 wickets with a best bowling figure of 4/13. 

Chahar was Chennai’s pace spearhead in his initial seasons. He managed to make early breakthroughs, mostly in the first over, with his incredible swing. The right-hander can also chip in with some crucial runs while batting in the lower order. 

Chahar, who made his international debut in the T20I format in July 2018, has played 25 matches and taken 31 wickets, including a five-wicket haul. A few months later, he was invited to the ODI team and went on to play 13 matches, taking 16 wickets. 

Some interesting facts about Chahar 

Chahar was part of the Indian squad which won the 2018 Asia Cup. He is the first Indian male cricketer to achieve a hat-trick in a T20I match. He grabbed six wickets against Bangladesh conceding just seven runs and was awarded with the T20I Performance of the Year award by the ICC. 

He proposed to his Delhi-based girlfriend, Jaya Bhardwaj, during CSK’s last league-stage match of the 2021 IPL. Interestingly, he was advised by then-CSK skipper MS Dhoni to propose to her before the knockout stage in order to keep focus on the game. On June 1 2022, the couple got married in his hometown Agra. 

Also read: Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull was born in 1969