Watching him bowl in his teens, Tyagi would often wonder “if he’s getting the ball to move around so much now, just how good would he be once his body has fully developed.” Such was his skill set that father, Lokendra Singh opted to quit his Air Force job to accompany his son 24×7 with his training.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Tyagi elucidates on the why of it: “He has complete control of his wrist action and release position. Those who swing the ball best master their action in the early days. The fingers are in hold of the ball perfectly, your wrist is right behind it, the ball seam travels right where you want the ball to swing, it’s not easy to learn these things let alone master them. His flow and sequence are picture perfect as well.”

Deepak Chahar 🤝 Wickets in Powerplay 🕺

A #Yellove story for the ages! 💯#GTvCSK #TATAIPL #Qualifier1 #IPLonJioCinema | @ChennaiIPL @deepak_chahar9 pic.twitter.com/Ethh2nnjZu

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 23, 2023

There’s more to Deepak the bowler though. Has to be. Conditions at his IPL home ground at Chepauk offer little help to move the ball as much as he’d want to. In comes the slower bouncer and the knuckle ball. The one that even the 2023 Shubman Gill couldn’t pick as he fell during Chennai Super Kings’ 15-run win over Gujarat Titans earlier this week.

In Deepak’s second over during Qualifier 1, MS Dhoni would stand up to the stumps for Shubman Gill, with the field restrictions on. Staying deep rooted in his crease, Gill would pick an angling-in delivery for a six over long leg. With his captain falling back to his usual position behind the stumps, Deepak decided to opt for a deep square leg and a deep mid wicket field. A field he’d stick with for the first ball of his last over, with five fielders allowed outside the circle. The slower, short delivery was pitched in and Gill miscued it straight to Conway at deep square leg. MS Dhoni would clap his gloves from behind.

“If you look at all of Gill’s videos, he needs momentum for his boundaries. He likes to step out to play those shots. The reason for pulling the keeper up was to not allow him to do so. There was a little bit of help in the wicket, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat easily. So I decided to go in with the ball that’ll allow him to play his shot and keep the fielder there,” Deepak told the broadcasters post match. To use the strength as the weakness; a task that’s easier said than done.

Chennai: Chennai Super Kings bowler Deepak Chahar celebrates with teammate MS Dhoni. (PTI Photo)

“Bilkul hi taabe nahi aati (No one is able to read it),” says Tyagi on his pupil’s special delivery. “I tell him, ‘Deepak yaar, it’s not easy to hone the knuckle ball.’ The way you almost instantaneously pull the fingers inside, it’s a joke! The way you then bang it on the surface, you have mastered doing so’.”

The key to every good knuckle ball or slower delivery is how well the bowler can hide it from the batter followed by the execution itself that demands a near perfect grip. “You have to work your own knuckle ball out. Everyone bowls it differently. The same is the case with a slower one. Your muscle memory holds onto the one that your body and your action sequence are most comfortable with,” Tyagi explains before spitting the hard truth. “You have to bowl some 100 deliveries a day for years to be able to bowl that one ball in big moments.”

It was a point engrained in Deepak’s head since his early cricket days. His father would install a net in the army chaavni in Suratgarh, where the teenager would bowl 200-300 to shape up his arsenal. “His background to become a player was deeper than others, reflective in his discipline,” says Tyagi recalling the days from the aughts. “To come from Suratgarh, stay in a Dharamshala in Hanumangarh…it used to be scorching 48-50 degrees and there was just the one fan where he stayed.”

Father’s foresight

Tyagi vividly remembers the first time Lokendra Singh Chahar shared with him that he meant to quit his job. “I’d try and convince him, ‘Dekhlo bhaisahab…’. He’d cut me short, ‘No sir, this is confirmed. If Deepak plays for India, I’d have to leave my job.”

Chahar Sr. would accompany his son in a 56-57 km travel from Suratgarh to Hanumangarh for his training.

While his development as a swing bowler took place with the red ball in his hand, Deepak’s father saw it necessary that he sharpened his batting skills as well. “Players can only progress through the IPL” he’d emphasize in his conversations with Tyagi.

Chennai Super Kings bowler Deepak Chahar celebrates. (PTI Photo)

Deepak’s selection in the Rajasthan U19 team offered him an opportunity to play the ODI tournament for the state. “His father used to write on boxes to note the ball’s age. 8 overs old, 10 overs all and so on,” Tyagi shares.

Captain’s favorite, a captain himself

“CSK se itna khele hai ki CSK mai rum gaye hai (He’s gelled into the CSK mentality after playing with them for so long),” says Tyagi with a chuckle, as he talked up that slower one to dismiss Gill.

Since his first IPL season with the Rising Pune Supergiants to now being one of the four players CSK retained for the ongoing auction cycle, Deepak has enjoyed playing under the Dhoni-Fleming captain-coach duo.

Double trouble!

Deepak Chahar’s lethal skills shine through and weave trouble for @DelhiCapitals 🎯#EveryGameMatters #IPLonJioCinema #DCvCSK #TATAIPL #IPL2023 #Yellove | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/Ot7OTqb1mU

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 20, 2023

“He has always said, ‘There’s a lot of freedom to work here’,” Tyagi shares. “Whatever your strengths are, you get to work on them only. Because if a franchise asks you to change per their needs, it’s only going to affect your rhythm in tournament cricket. They (CSK) are quite intelligent that way.”

There are a lot of common notes Tyagi believes his star student shares with his franchise skipper. “All these years he hasn’t changed at all. He doesn’t like staying up till late. Is not big on parties. And keeps away from his phone. Just like his captain. That’s why he is his favorite. Automatically, like-people attract each other.”