A late bloomer of sorts, Tushar Deshpande was into his 20s when his cricket career really found some traction. Hailing from Kalyan which is on the outskirts of Mumbai, Deshpande had been doing the hard yards in domestic cricket for Mumbai without too much success or recognition. His first break came in 2020 when he was picked by Delhi Capitals in the IPL, but he had a lackluster debut campaign with just 3 wickets in 5 matches.

In 2022, Chennai Super Kings took a punt on him and he became the first impact sub of IPL history, getting a debut in the season opener. Deshpande was used as a death overs specialist by CSK, and ended up taking a lot of wickets although at the cost of a faltering economy. He picked 21 wickets in the 2023 season and 17 wickets in the 2024 season, while also playing in the victorious final of 2023. In July, 2024 he made his T20I debut for India against Zimbabwe.