'Seeking Gaikwad More Than Dhoni?': Here's How Deepak Chahar Dodged Gavaskar's Tricky Captaincy Change Question

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday defeated the Gujarat Titans to make it 2 wins in a row in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The defending champions produced an all-round show to register the biggest win against GT, in terms of margin of runs, in tournament history.

After being asked to bat first, the Super Kimgs piled up a mammoth total of 207 runs, riding on Shivam Dube’s Blazing fifty which came after a commendable opening partnership between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra. Later, the bowlers ran riot as the troika of Deepak Chahar, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tushar Deshpande picked up 2 wickets apiece to put the Titans completely on the mat.

After the convincing win, Chahar spoke to former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Jio Cinema, discussing various aspects of the CSK vs GT encounter at Chepauk on Tuesday evening. Giving insights on his bowling spell, the right-arm quick said is used to bowling three over in the Powerplay itself.

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“Since the time I have been playing, I have been bowling 3 overs in the powerplay, used to it, just trying to bowl as well as possible with the new rules around,” Chahar told Gavaskar.

A newly-introduced rule in the IPL 2024 allows the bowler to bowl two bouncers in one over which was previously restricted to one. Speaking about its advantage, Chahar said the new playing conditions don’t let the batter anticipate the bowler’s move.

“Earlier, if you bowled a bouncer in the first 2-3 balls, batters were always ready for a full-length ball, but this new rule with two bouncers allowed in an over, it helps all the pacers. There’s bounce always, but there’s not much dew around at the moment. The ball grips and bounces in such conditions,” he added.

Gavaskar further asked about the impact of the change in leadership in the CSK camp as MS Dhoni relinquished his post a day before the beginning of the IPL 2024, handing the responsibility to Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Gavaskar asked Chahar if he was chatting with Gaikwad instead of Dhoni these days while bowling. However, the fast bowler dealt with the tricky question smartly and said, “I got to look at Mahi (MSD) bhai and at Ruturaj – both of them these days (for instructions). I get confused about where to see, Mahi bhai or Ruturaj. But, Ruturaj is leading well.”