Deepak Chahar is an honest man both on and off the field. After being awarded player of the match, he didn't have any problems admitting that he was struggling in the initial phase of his spell in his comeback match against Zimbabwe or the fact that it was the first wicket that took all the pressure off him. India may have rested many of their first-XI cricketers for this three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe, which many would argue, lacks relevance ahead of the Asia Cup in the T20 format and does little in the preparation for the World Cup later this year. But for players like Chahar, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav these ODIs mean a lot. All three of them are making a comeback to the side after long injury layoffs.
Chahar, in fact, corrected teammate Axar Patel, who said the right-arm pacer was out of action for two-three months. Before the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday, Chahar had last played in February this year. He had missed the entire IPL too.
The right-arm seamer, however, made a strong comeback by picking up three wickets in his spell with the new ball to help India bowl Zimbabwe out for 189 despite a record 70-run stand for the ninth wicket between Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava.
Also Read | 'Go back to Sachin Tendulkar': Jadeja on India opener's approach
After the match, he had a fun conversation with Axar Patel, who too picked up three wickets in the match. In the video which was uploaded on BCCI.tv, Axar also referred Chahar as 'ABD'.
Axar Patel: Aj Harare mein main apne saath leke aya hu hamare ABD, hamara bhai Deepak. Toh shurwat mein 2-3 over aap ladkhada rahe the aur uske baad ladkhade ke jo bowling daali aapne... kaise rhthym pakdda aapne? (Today in Harare, I have our ABD, Deepak Chahar with us. You were struggling for the first few overs but then how did you recover?"
{{/usCountry}}Axar Patel: Aj Harare mein main apne saath leke aya hu hamare ABD, hamara bhai Deepak. Toh shurwat mein 2-3 over aap ladkhada rahe the aur uske baad ladkhade ke jo bowling daali aapne... kaise rhthym pakdda aapne? (Today in Harare, I have our ABD, Deepak Chahar with us. You were struggling for the first few overs but then how did you recover?"
{{/usCountry}}Deepak Chahar: Landing area kaafi hard tha, spikes andar jaa hi nahi rahe the. (The landing area was hard and my spikes were not gripping). I started to land properly only when the area got rough. And luckily I got a wicket, which took the pressure off.
Axar Patel: You were out of the side for 2-3 months, what mindset did you have before coming here to Zimbabwe? What was your journey in NCA when you were injured?
Deepak Chahar: Saare cheh mahine ho gaye, do mahine nahi (It's been 6 and a half months, not two). When you are out for such a long time, you are always eager to make a comeback. It was a tough phase. I was waiting for a long time to come back and play for India again.
"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," Chahar said in the post-match press conference after his 3/27 helped India win the match by 10 wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.