Knew CSK would get me back: Deepak Chahar

India fast bowler Deepak Chahar revealed that he wasn’t ready to play for any other team in IPL other than four-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings.

Chahar also revealed that he did not discuss retention with Mahendra Singh Dhoni or anyone else from the CSK management ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022 mega auction, adding that he was always confident that the four-time champions would buy him back.

Chahar became the most expensive Indian fast bowler at an IPL auction when CSK paid Rs 14 crore to secure the services of the India bowler on Day 1 of the mega auction on February 12.

Deepak Chahar was not retained by CSK as the Men in Yellow went for MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali as their four picks ahead of the auction. However, they broke the bank to buy back the fast bowler, who has been showcasing his bowling skills in the recent past as well.

The 29-year-old saw a myriad bidding war between Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

Notably, CSK did not enter the race until the bidding went past Rs 10 crore. They made their first bid at Rs 11 crore before snapping up the player.

Chahar has been a dependable bowler for CSK as MS Dhoni has liked to use him in the powerplay overs. The Rajasthan pacer has more often than not responded to his captain's call, picking up 59 wickets in 63 matches since 2018 for CSK.

Revealing that he had spoken to former BCCI president N Srinivas and the CEO of CSK, Kasi Viswanathan in 2018, Chahar said he was assured that he would always play for CSK in the IPL.

"I am really happy to be back in Chennai Super Kings. I don't think there will be any difference. When I go back, I will be seeing the same faces over the last four years, maybe over the last 6 years because I was with the Pune side and half the players were there. I could not have asked for a better auction than this," Chahar told Star Sports on Sunday.

Chahar, who was travelling with the Indian national team during the time of his auction, thanked CSK captain MS Dhoni and the team management for putting their trust in him.

"I have never spoken about all this to Mahi bhai or the CSK management (about retentions). They just assured me that in 2018, I met Kasi sir and Srinivasan sir and they told me that I was going to play for Yellow always.

"I took his word that day and after that, I have never spoken about retention or anything. Before the auction also, I didn't speak anything. I knew that CSK would pick me," he added.

The pacer said he did not want the price to go more than Rs 14 crore, fearing CSK may pull out of the bidding war.

"We were travelling from Ahmedabad and Kolkata. We were watching the auction on the phone, the whole team was watching it. Everyone was asking 'kitna hogaya?'."

"When I reached till Rs 14 crore, I was thinking 'I should not go for more than this' because if CSK pulled out after that, I would have been very sad. I wanted to play for CSK because I can't imagine myself playing for any other colour.”

"At one time, I thought it was too much. As a CSK player, I also want the team to build a good team and we can buy some other players," Chahar said.

Notably, this was the first time in the history of IPL auction that CSK spent more than Rs 10 crore on a single player.