It just took one match for Deepak Chahar to remind everyone of the skillset and qualities he brings to the table as a pacer: having missed almost six months of cricket – international and the IPL – Chahar returned with match-winning figures of 7-0-27-3 in the first Harare ODI vs Zimbabwe on Thursday.
Chahar dismissed all three of Zimbabwe’s top-order – openers Innocent Kaia and Tadiwanashe Marumani edged Chahar’s swinging and seaming deliveries to wicket-keeper Sanju Samson while number 3 batsman, Wesley Madhevere, was trapped lbw by one that swung into his pads.
Chahar bowled 7 overs on the trot, leaving the hosts reeling at 31/4 – Mohammed Siraj dismissed Sean Williams in the first powerplay – and effectively sealing the game for India.
Can Deepak Chahar make it into the T20 World Cup squad?
Harsh Bhogle was so impressed with Chahar’s comeback, and knowing the skillset that Chahar brings to the table – excellent swing bowling plus adds batting depth – Bhogle tweeted in praise of the seamer after his Man of the Match worthy performance in Harare.
Bhogle asserted that Chahar is good enough now to be in India’s T20 squad for the T20 World Cup in October if Harshal Patel fails to recover from his side strain injury which will keep him out of action for at least another month.
“The return of Deepak Chahar is a big plus because if he can maintain fitness and rhythm, he can be a valuable part of the T20 squad. If he ticks those boxes, and if Harshal Patel can’t recover in time, he will be in my T20 World Cup team,” Harsha Bhogle tweeted.
Here is Harsha Bhogle’s tweet that is going viral:
The return of Deepak Chahar is a big plus because if he can maintain fitness and rhythm, he can be a valuable part of the T20 squad. If he ticks those boxes, and if Harshal Patel can’t recover in time, he will be in my T20 World Cup team.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 18, 2022
In support of Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna and Axar Patel also took three wickets each and one for Siraj – the bowling effort bowled Zimbabwe out for 189, a total which Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan (81*) and Shubman Gill (82*) gunned down with ease in 30.5 overs to register an emphatic 10-wicket win.
Taking his Man of the Match award, Deepak Chahar talked about his outing today. He said, “The landing was a little hard and when you play a international game after six and half months, obviously you will be a little nervous. Before coming here I played at least 4-5 practice games and the body and mind wasn’t working together in the first few overs, but it got better after that. I’m fine and the body is fine as well.”
