"If I am not there for him in those situations, what kind of son am I?" - Deepak Chahar defends decision to skip South African tour

Team India pacer Deepak Chahar defended his decision to skip the ODI leg of the South African tour after his father suffered a brain stroke.

The 31-year-old was part of the ODI and T20I side for the tour but withdrew from the 50-over squad, citing personal emergency reasons. The T20I series ended in a 1-1 draw, followed by the ODIs that saw India triumph by a 2-1 margin.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Chahar said the decision to skip the South Africa series, for his father, was easy.

"For me, my father comes first. I am here only because of him. Whatever I have achieved is because of my father. If I am not there for him in those situations, then obviously, what kind of son am I? If the series was in India, then I would have surely tried to play. You can come to the hospital if you need within 4-5 hours. But obviously, (from) South Africa it takes 2-3 days to come back," said Chahar.

He added:

"It was an easy decision to be with my father -- any son would do that. I was with my father in the hospital for 25 days. He was not in Agra. He was admitted in Aligarh. We all had to stay there."

While Chahar hasn't played ODIs since December 2022, he featured in the penultimate T20I of the home Australian series before the South African tour.

"Missed two T20 World Cups because of my injuries" - Deepak Chahar

New Zealand v India - 3rd ODI

Deepak Chahar stated his motivation to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup at the West Indies and U.S.A. in June. Despite being in the purview for selection in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup squads, the pacer has yet to play in the showpiece event.

Chahar also highlighted the value of a lower-order pace-bowling all-rounder in the T20 setup by saying:

"I have missed two (T20) World Cups because of my injuries. If I was fully fit, I would have been a part of the World Cup team as well. In any scenario or (in) any team combination, there is always a requirement for a bowler who can bat at No. 7, 8, 9. I have done that and scored runs for the Indian team."

The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer also detailed his absence for the recent Afghanistan T20Is that followed the South African tour.

"I was only able to do some exercises. I was not able to do any cricketing activities. That's why I was not ready for the Afghanistan series. I had not practised for a month or so. After that I went to the NCA. I started my practice again and now I am fully fit. Everything is good. I trained really hard for the IPL and the World Cup," said Chahar.

Chahar has played 13 ODIs and 25 T20Is since his national debut in 2018. He has picked up a combined 47 wickets, including an incredible 6/7 in a T20I against Bangladesh.