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Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Deepak Chahar found a new home in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. CSK fought for him despite a depleted purse but Mumbai Indians (MI) and roped in the pacer for Rs 9.25 crore. Days after the mega auction, Chahar expressed his gratitude to former CSK captain MS Dhoni who nurtured his talent. The 32-year-old also explained why CSK could not his acquire his services despite bidding aggressively for him.
“Mahi bhai has supported me from the start, that's why I wanted to come here. But my name came on the second day at the auction, so I had a fair idea that it would be difficult for me to get back to CSK. They had a low purse, but still bid till INR 9 crore despite a purse of INR 13 crore,” Chahar told Sports Tak.
“I had made up my mind that it would be difficult. Last year (mega auction), my name came first, that's why it was easier to get back to CSK.”
Chahar's run in IPL so far
In 2016, now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) picked Chahar for his base price of Rs 10 lakh. In IPL 2018, CSK got him for Rs 80 lakh and kept retaining him till the 2021 season. IPL 2022 mega auction, they went all out for the Agra-born bowling all-rounder and slurged Rs 14 crore.
His best season for CSK came in 2019 when he claimed 22 wickets from 17 games. In the last season, he had his trouble with injuries and bagged just five wickets from eight games. So far, the 32-year-old has 77 wickets from 81 IPL games.
Chahar's role at MI
Now, Chahar will form a formidable partnership with world-class pacers Jasprit Bumrah and New Zealand's Trent Boult at MI under Hardik Pandya's captaincy. He is likely to bowl the maximum of his overs in the powerplay overs. With the breeze coming in at Wankhede Stadium, he may get some extra movement to trouble the batters with the new ball.
Chahar's run in SMAT 2024
So far, he has not been expensive in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024. He has four wickets from four games for Rajasthan.
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