'He has to play all games no matter what': When Dhoni made his demand clear for CSK star

The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings will be playing their tenth Indian Premier League final against the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The team is known to be one of the most consistent sides in the tournament's history and has also lifted four titles. Ahead of the CSK vs GT IPL 2023 final, team bowler Deepak Chahar interacting with Gaurav Kapur on his show Breakfast with Champions shared a starling revelation regarding his selection in Super Kings' side. 

Deepak Chahar has been a part of the Chennai Super Kings since the Indian Premier League 2018 and while making his debut against the Mumbai Indians, he bowled a tremendous opening spell. The right-handed pacer swung the ball both ways and also made it difficult for the MI batsmen to hit the ball. 

READ: CSK coach Stephen Fleming confident of the team's preparations ahead of the IPL 2023 final vs GT

'MS Dhoni backed me to play all 14 games': Deepak Chahar 

Deepak Chahar while speaking to Gaurav Kapur on Breakfast with Champions opened up on how he was selected in the Chennai Super Kings side.  "The next year when the auction happened, they picked me for the team in 2018. During the discussions for the first match, Fleming wanted me to play after a few matches and wanted to include a senior player instead. Then Mahi bhai told him, 'He has to play all 14 matches no matter what. Talk to me about the rest', Later, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told me that when the team was being formed, my name was written first", Chahar said. 

READ: CSK vs GT IPL Today Match Live Score

Deepak Chahar has been associated with MS Dhoni since 2016 as he was a part of the Rising Pune Super Giants squad in the tournament. During the chat, Chahar also revealed that the RPSG coach Stephen Fleming who is currently the head coach of CSK was impressed with his batting rather than bowling and was picked for the team. 

"Fleming picked me for the Pune team, not for my bowling but for my batting. On the first day of our camp, we had a practice match. I was batting. I came down one. I hit five sixes to get to 30 and then when I ran for the run, I injured my hamstring. By the time I was fit, the team combination was set. Rajat Bhatia was playing the year. Steve Smith became the captain the next year. The funny thing was that in 2017 I was the 12th man for the whole season", Deepak Chahar said.