T20I-bound Deepak Chahar eyes Test call-up, breaks silence on perception about him

T20I specialist Deepak Chahar sets sight on an unlikely Test call-up while trying to break a perception around him. Deepak has found it hard to seal his place in the white-ball side with his promising career marred by injuries lately. However, with him getting picked in the ongoing Australia T20Is, the right-arm seamer has cleared his intentions of playing the right-ball format.

Following Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fading phase in white-ball cricket, Deepak emerged as the lead contender to replace him as someone who swings it with the new ball. This ability of his separated him from the rest, keeping him ahead of his contemporaries in the pecking order.

Deepak’s rise in the shortest format saw him leading Chennai Super Kings’ pace attack in the IPL, with the five-time winners spending INR 14 crore to bag his services in the last mega auction. Although his 14 wickets in the 2021 campaign helped CSK lift the title the fourth time, Deepak pulled out of the next season with an injury.

He again returned to the CSK setup in 2023, playing ten matches and picking 13 wickets, proving vital in the franchise’s fifth-title-winning campaign.

Speaking ahead of India’s fourth T20I in Raipur, Deepak addressed the elephant in the room and spoke his heart out on breaking the perception about him limited to playing just white-ball formats.

"There is preparation involved in everything we do. If you look at it, my preparation was good for the Ranji Trophy and also for the IPL (last season). I will not be able to play a Test match if I am suddenly informed that I'll play a Test. For that matter, no one else probably can.

If I am told one month in advance, then I'll prepare accordingly. I will increase my workload accordingly. I have the swing, I have the ideas; it's just that I'll need a month to prepare. I would love to play Tests for India," Deepak Chahar told Jio Cinema.

Deepak ahead of Prasidh in 4th T20I

Having conceded 68 runs in four overs in the recently-concluded 3rd T20I in Guwahati, seamer Prasidh Krishna could likely make way for Deepak Chahar for the remainder of the series.

With the conditions suiting the Uttar Pradesh-born bowler, Deepak could press his case for future series, including the South Africa T20Is, starting December 10.