Deepak Chahar of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) said that he was never a ‘naturally talented’ swing bowler and that he worked hard to learn how to swing the ball both ways.
Chahar revealed that his father used to help him bowl up to 500 balls every day in order to perfect his swing and accuracy. He feels that starting practice at a young age is the key to success.
Deepak Chahar spoke on the show ‘Breakfast with Champions’ on the necessity of practice, using Suryakumar Yadav’s unconventional strokes as an example:
“We started the practice of good length bowling and I used to bowl 500 balls everyday, 250 inswing and 250 outswing. People say I am a natural swing bowler. But for me nothing is natural. Whatever you practice from the early age, you become good at that. Look at Surya and some of the shots he plays. He has practiced for that since his childhood and might have got dismissed too a number of times, but he practiced and nailed the execution.”
Deepak Chahar on the importance of playing with higher age-group players
Deepak Chahar also commended his father for forcing him to play with older players so that he could be exposed to more tough situations and adjust properly. He believes it helps him do rather well against players in his own age group.
Chahar remarked on this:
“One thing what my father did was really smart was that he made me play with players elder to me. That made me more competitive. Those who reduce their age to fit into certain age groups are only diminishing their chances of playing professionally. When you compete with people of outside your age group, you get prepared for tougher things and then playing within your own age group feels easier.”
Chahar has been a huge asset to both India and CSK when he has been fit.
