Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is known for its culture and the ability to get the best out of its players. Several young stars have played for India after a stint with CSK as the duo of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming are known to make players comfortable in roles they want them to play in and then give them a long run, so they are not scared of losing their place if one or two games don't go well.
One of the graduates of this CSK academy has been pace-bowling all-rounder Deepak Chahar. Chahar, who has been with Dhoni and Fleming since the Rising Pune Supergiants days, has grown into his role not just as a powerplay bowler but a bowling all-rounder, who offers much more than just four overs in a T20 match. CSK went after him spending INR 14 crore in the mega auction in order to retain him showing faith and how desperately they wanted him.
Since Chahar has been with Dhoni for a few years now, the duo share an interesting bond. While Chahar doesn't leave an opportunity to have some fun with Dhoni, trying to irritate him in fun ways on several occasions since he is not that social media friendly, the skipper too doesn't leave a chance to take a dig or troll the pacer whenever he gets the opportunity to.
IPL 2023 was another reminder of the same when Dhoni scared Chahar off with his shadow batting in the dugout or pretending to hit him during practice or the best, refusing to give him an autograph after CSK won the title because he dropped a catch, there were several laugh out loud moments between the two and now opening up on his bond, the CSK skipper chose to troll him again.
"Deepak Chahar is like a drug, if he is not there, you would think, where is he - if he is around, you would think, why he is here - good part is that he is maturing but he takes time and that is the problem, in my lifetime, I won't see him matured (smiles)," Dhoni said on the sidelines of the trailer and audio launch of his production company Dhoni Entertainment's maiden film 'Let's Get Married'.
Despite paying such a huge sum, CSK are likely to retain Chahar for IPL 2024 and with Dhoni set to play for one last time, the fans will get to see the banter between the duo yet again.
