Deepak Chahar made headlines in the Indian Premier League's (IPL) mega auction when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) broke banks by roping him in for a whopping amount of INR 14 crore. With this he became the the most expensive Indian bowler to be auctioned in the IPL history. Deepak has come a long way who once was bagged for mere INR 80 lakhs by CSK back in 2018. In an exclusive interview with Sports Tak, Deepak opened up on his desire to earn big bucks and make an autobiography on his father Lokendra Singh Chahar, who made a lot of sacrifice and left no stones unturned in the making of Deepak.
When Deepak's father left government job for Chahar brothers
Father Lokendra always wanted his both the sons (Deepak and Rahul) to pursue cricket. For the same cause, he had to relinquish a government job in Indian Air force back in 2006 so that he can concentrate on them and facilitate them the required training. Deepak's father used to take him to Hanumangarh Cricket Academy which was 50 km away from Suratgarh, Rajasthan. There Deepak found a coach in Navendu Tyagi, who made him aware of the nuances of cricket. Years after, materialising his father's dream, Deepak has carved out a name for himself in the world cricket.
Deepak's dream to make an autobiography movie on father
Roped in for INR 14 crore by CSK, Deepak recalled his father's sacrifices on the momentous occasion. Deepak shared his dream to make an autobiography movie on his father for which he wants to earn as much money as possible.
"I had only two dreams, one was to represent India and another one is to make an autobiography movie on my father who has sacrificed a lot to get me where I am today. Only few does what my father has done for me. My would be wife Jaya Bharadwaj once asked me, "Would you be able to replicate your father when you yourself become a father one day?". I said that it is very difficult. But yes, even if I do 50 per cent of that, my kids will excel in their life," Deepak told Sports Tak.
Reason behind Chahar's batting
Deepak impressed not only with bowling but also with the batting in the recent concluded South Africa tour. He scored 54 runs in South Africa and played a knock of 38 runs recently in the third ODI against West Indies. Talking about his batting Chahar said, "I have got INR 3 crore extra for my batting in the last few days because no other fast bowler has got so much money. So whatever extra money I get is for batting. But one thing is that now I practice less on batting but two years ago I used to bat even better. Now that my bowling worm has calmed down a bit and I am looking to bat match-wise. I think it has come over the time. There has been a lot of change in my mindset regarding batting as I don't think much about fours and sixes. It is the result of that," the 29-year-old said.
'Didn't expect more than 9 crore'
In the IPL auction, Chennai placed a bid of up to INR 14 crores on Deepak, about which he said, "I knew that Chennai would bid and it will go all over for me. But when the bidding took place, five to six teams including Punjab bid for me. The auction game is when your name comes and how much money is left with the team at that time. I thought, I would go to Chennai for 8 to 9 crores and go ahead of it, then maybe another team take over. That's why it has worked like icing on the cake for me where I not only got INR 14 crores but also got a team like Chennai.
'Played for 80 lakhs for four years'
It is often seen in the IPL that more big money beckons a whole lot of pressure on the player to perform. Chennai roped in Deepak in the team in the year 2018 for 80 lakhs. Since then his performance has steadily improved and now they have broken banks on him.
Deepak also spoke about the escalating pressure which comes with the money.
"Look, money doesn't matter when we play. For four years I have played honestly for CSK for INR 80 lakh. But I have focused only on my game. It is often seen that the player who gets more money doesn't really click. That's why I don't believe in anything like that. My only mindset is to do better for the team. And as far as money is concerned, I have not asked anyone for this. It is just a matter of chance," Deepak further added.
