Indian all-rounder Deepak Chahar opens up on his new sports brand and aim to return to Team India soon.
Cricketer Deepak Chahar recently launched his own sports brand D9 in a glittering ceremony in the national capital. The fast bowler, who has played 13 ODIs and 24 T20Is for India, spoke to DNA about his vision with his new venture, the growth of sports culture in India, and hopes to return to the national team.
Chahar says that India is gradually adopting a sports culture that had been missing till very recently. “Today, even those in corporate jobs play recreational sports today. Kids get into professional sports more freely now. When I was younger, parents told kids to focus on studies more. But today the opportunities are more. And now, those people – who were denied the opportunity 20-30 years ago – are the parents. They want to give their kids that exposure and allow you them to pursue sports seriously,” he says.
The all-rounder says that it was due to this proliferation of interest in sports in the country that he felt compelled to launch D9 Sports, his brand. “I always felt that we don’t have a big sports brand in India. We always think of Nike, Adidas, Puma, which are all foreign brands. There was that space for an Indian brand to emerge and provide quality sportswear and equipment to Indian sports enthusiasts. It won’t happen immediately and may take 5-10 years, but my target is to eventually make D9 India’s best sports brand,” says Chahar.
Chahar is a seam bowling all-rounder, in the mould of Shardul Thakur. Born in an era where India has no dearth of fast bowling talent, Chahar knows his work is cut out for him if he wants to establish himself in the team. He argues, “The better the competition, the better your efforts are. The pressure is not just on me but also on the ones who are playing in the team. They know that if they don’t perform well, there is someone waiting in the wings for their spot, which is good for Indian cricket. There should be good bench strength. Today, our batting is so strong for the same reason.”
The 31-year-old last played for India in December last year. Now, after recovering from an injury, he has returned as a better batter, making his case with some good lower-order hitting in a regional T20 league recently. He tells us, “I have worked equally hard at my batting too. I regularly practise batting in the nets too. Right from the beginning, I have wanted to be an all-rounder because you have a chance to leave a bigger impact on the team. Whenever I have gotten opportunities, I have tried to show that worth. I will continue that effort. You need your number 8 to bat well. So if one of your main bowlers can bat a bit, that’s a bonus. If the team management trusts you to get 20-25 runs towards the end and help win the match, it sets you apart. You are an asset to the team.”
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 "Deepak Chahar")
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