IND vs ZIM 2022, 1st ODI: Deepak Chahar believes he's picked up from where he left 6 months ago
Deepak Chahar, who got the 'Player of The Match' award with figures of 3/27 against Zimbabwe on his comeback, feels that he had done a lot of work skill-wise to match that level of performance during the pre-injury period.
FollowA six-month injury layoff can be mentally taxing, but Deepak Chahar feels he has recovered from his career-threatening hamstring injury after making a spectacular comeback to international cricket.
The Rajasthan seamer, who got the 'Player of The Match' award with figures of 3/27 against Zimbabwe on his comeback, feels that he had done a lot of work skill-wise to match that level of performance during the pre-injury period.
Asked if he feels his T20 World Cup doors could open up, Chahar said, "I can't say if I will be selected or not as that's not in my hands, but skill wise I have worked very hard."Â
"I think I have picked up from where I had left, and today also, barring the first two overs, I bowled well. I bowled seven overs at one go which is an indicator that my fitness levels are okay," Chahar told reporters after the game in Harare.Â
After regaining his mojo and achieving noticeable ball swings in both directions during the morning practice, Chahar disclosed that the strategy was to bowl fuller-length deliveries.
"My plan remains simple, when the ball is swinging, try to bowl fuller length and take wickets. If the ball isn't swinging, then there is a plan 'B' or 'C'. Today, it was swinging till the seventh over that I was bowling. So it was simple -- bowl a fuller length and mix the swing and confuse the batter," he said.Â
Also read:Â CSK star Deepak Chahar ties knot with Jaya Bhardwaj; see pictures and videos
For Chahar, the Harare Sports Club pitch's USP is a bit of nip in the air and off the track in the morning session. "There isn't any turn on offer or neither anything for fast bowlers in particular. The only help you get is in that in the morning session and if you play that session well, then obviously the game goes well. But if you lose 4-5 early wickets, then no team can win a match from there. I felt Zimbabwe after losing five wickets for 50 odd (66), scoring 190 was a good effort," he added.
Despite his reputation as a T20 specialist, Chahar revealed that as his rehabilitation at the NCA was about to be completed, he understood that ODIs in Zimbabwe would be his comeback vehicle and that he had properly adjusted his body to suit the demands of the 50-over format.
"I knew I would make my comeback in this series, which is an ODI series, so I started loading my body accordingly. The day I started bowling, I bowled six overs and then when I played 2-3 practice games, I bowled full quota of 10 overs," Chahar informed.Â
Also read:Â '14 years ago, it all started' - Virat Kohli shares iconic moments of his career
Speaking about the day's performance, he did agree that there is bound to be circumspection when one comes back after such a long time and people, who played in the interim, also performed.
"Difficulty was there. Because you are trying to regain your place in the side and in the interim, people who played have also performed and consolidated their places. So in order to regain your spot, you have to put up a good performance, Obviously pressure was there and I wanted to perform at the first opportunity because that's all what a player can control," he signed off.
(With inputs from PTI)
