Birthday special: Deepak Chahar – 3 lesser-known facts about the Indian pacer

India’s swing bowling sensation Deepak Chahar has been marred with unfortunate injuries in the recent past and India will be pleased to see the return of their star man later this month. Chahar made his debut for the Indian side back in 2018 and has improved leaps and bounces since then under the guidance of CSK skipper MS Dhoni.

The 29-year-old is primarily a swing bowler and is lethal with the new ball in hand, but has grown considerably in the death overs and developed deadly accurate yorkers in his armoury. Still early in his international career, Chahar has scalped 36 wickets for the Indian team and has showcased his exploits with the bat as well, with two half-centuries in ODIs.

On the eve of the trailblazing Indian fast bowler’s 30th birthday, here’s a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the UP-born cricketer.

He is the cousin of actress Malti Chahar

Deepak Chahar is the cousin of Indian cricketer Rahul Chahar, a well-known fact in the cricketing fraternity. However, not many know Deepak’s connection with Bollywood as he is the younger sibling of model-actress Malti Chahar. Malti has appeared in movies like Genius and Manicure along with several short films.

He earned a Youth contract from Rising Pune Supergiants

Deepak Chahar entered the record books in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy, when he made a mockery of Hyderabad’s batting order on his FC debut, scalping eight wickets for ten runs, bowling out Hyderabad for 21 runs, the lowest total in Ranji Trophy history. His exceptional swing bowling prowess earned him a youth contract from IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants.

He was rejected by Greg Chappell due to his short stature 

Greg Chappell had an infamous stint as the head coach of the Indian team, and former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad revealed in a tweet last year that the Aussie coach had rejected Deepak Chahar during his tenure as the director of the Rajasthan Cricket Academy. Chappell had told the young Indian pacer to quit the profession as he was “too short” to be a fast bowler.