Rahul sir is gunda of full India: Deepak Chahar after match-winning knock against Sri Lanka in Colombo ODI

At the start of 2021, an ad featuring Rahul Dravid became viral. The CRED ad, which showed Dravid caught in the notorious traffic of Bangalore, displayed his angry side. In that same ad, Dravid raises his bat and shouts ‘Indira Nagar ka gunda hoon main’. This redefined a meme altogether. The angry side of Rahul Dravid increased the cult following of ‘The Wall’ by many notches. The ‘Indiranagar ka gunda hoon main’ was translated in a very different way during the Colombo ODI against Sri Lanka.

India were staring down the barrel at 193/7. Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were out in the middle. In a brilliant display of batting and calmness, Chahar and Bhuvneshwar stitched an 84-run stand that saw India cross the line in the final over. This was India’s 10th win in Sri Lanka and ensured Dravid had won his first series as coach of the India team in Sri Lanka. Chahar was hailed on social media, with many labeling him ‘Colombo ka gunda hoon main’.

When asked about this in the pre-match press conference, Chahar cheekily replied. “Rahul sir is gunda of full India,” Chahar responded to a question by sportslumo.com. But, this is not the first time Dravid has shown faith in Chahar. The pace bowler revealed many interesting insights over his batting during the press conference.

Dravid shows the faith

This might have been Dravid’s first stint as coach of the India senior team. But, Chahar has had experience working with Dravid in the India A tours. In that, the former India captain has shown immense faith in his batting. “I have gone with him on India A tours. I have had batting in this similar situation and I have played good knocks. Rahul sir has the confidence in me. If the coach backs you, it is there in the back of your mind that you have support,” Chahar said.

Apart from Dravid, there was one more coincidence that went viral. Chahar’s image was pitted with Shardul Thakur’s exploits in the Brisbane Test. The post read, “Getting India over the line, take Chennai Super Kings bowler’s help.” Thakur and Chahar have been part of the Chennai Super Kings line-up and Chahar was quick to point out the influence of MS Dhoni in the team.

“The impact of Dhoni is massive. I am following him since childhood. We have seen how he finishes games. The situation is in your hands as to how you want to end. If the match goes to the end, it is a thriller. I just wanted to drag the match to the last over,” Chahar responded.

Need to focus on batting

Chahar stated that he always wanted to improve his batting whenever he was given the opportunity. “I am always working hard on my batting. My father is my coach. When we talk for 10 minutes, 6-7 minutes is on batting,” Chahar said.

The right-hander also stated that he had to switch between different roles when he was playing with Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Krunal was batting well but when he fell for 35, India were some distance away. But, when Bhuvneshwar started his innings, Chahar said he had far more confidence to go for his shots.

“Bhuvneshwar batted well. Krunal Pandya was playing well. I had a different role with Krunal. He was batting well and I had to rotate the strike. The way Bhuvi played the first few balls gave me great confidence. I did not have to take a high-risk chance,” Chahar said.

With the World T20 four months away, Chahar is taking it one step at a time and wants to focus on his fitness. Having recovered from a back stress fracture in 2019 and coronavirus around IPL 2020, Chahar is taking no chances. “It has been a long while since the stress fracture. I also had COVID-19. I had 6-7 months of recovery. The stress fracture was because of overload. It happens if you use the bone and muscle a lot. I had good time to recover. I am only focused on making the body strong,” Chahar said.

India will take on Sri Lanka in the final ODI on July 23. After the ODIs, the action shifts to the three-match Twenty20 Internationals.