Chetan Sakariya, Rahul Dravid
Chetan Sakariya, Rahul Dravid. (Photo: Twitter)

Indian prodigy bowler Chetan Sakariya revealed that he couldn’t believe himself when he spoke to former Indian captain Rahul Dravid during the Sri Lanka tour.

Sakariya was one of those hosts of youngsters, who made his debut for India in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka last month. Sakariya received his maiden ODI cap in the final match against Sri Lanka on July 23 in Colombo.

In his first match, he claimed a couple of wickets, where he dismissed Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was in terrific form with the bat before he caught Dhananjaya de Silva of his own bowling. Sakariya later played two T20I matches where he didn’t find enough success.

Chetan Sakariya was shocked and startled in his first meeting with Rahul Dravid

The 23-year-old, who hails from Bhavnagar (a town in Gujarat), opened up on his first meeting with Dravid, who was appointed as the head coach of the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series. Sakariya said he was shocked to see the great batsman and when he learned that Dravid followed his youth career, he felt amazing about it.

“After completing the mandatory two-week quarantine in Sri Lanka, we had a get-together. Rahul sir came up to me and said, ‘Hi Chetan, Rahul here.’ I was shocked and startled at first because I couldn’t believe that it was really him, but I stood up and said ‘hi’ to him,” Sakariya said, as reported by India Today.

Shikhar Dhawan, India, Sri Lanka
Chetan Sakariya, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw [Image-Twitter]

“I introduced myself and he asked me about my family background, playing experience. He also asked about cricket in Saurashtra and how we’ve been doing well in the last five years, and complimented me for my bowling and said he had followed my journey during the IPL, and he liked how I bowled with the new and the old ball. So, it felt amazing that a legend like him knew who I was and was following my performances,” added Sakariya.

Rahul Dravid India Coach
Rahul Dravid. Image Credits: Twitter

It has been a dream come true to make it to the Indian Team: Chetan Sakariya

Sakariya’s journey to the Indian team has not been easy, the player comes from a week financial background and before he was purchased by Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021 auction, his younger brother had committed suicide while he was playing for Saurashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

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Just after the IPL 2021 was suspended, Sakariya’s father died due to COVID-19 and through his IPL performance, he earned himself a place in the Indian team. Sakariya said it was his dream to play for the Indian team and he couldn’t believe it when he got selected for the Sri Lanka tour.

“To make it to the Indian team, it has been a dream come true. When I first heard of it, there were a lot of thoughts in my head, but I was unable to believe it. I pinched myself because I was wondering if it was even true. I didn’t think of it in a way that I would get to play or not, just being a part of that dressing room was a huge moment for me,” said Chetan Sakariya.

Chetan Sakariya
Chetan Sakariya (Image Credit: Twitter)

“When I was preparing to bowl that first ball, I had a couple of minutes to go through marking my run-up, warming up, in that moment, I could see a flashback of everything that had unfolded in my life the good, the bad, the sacrifices, the support, the criticism everything,” he added.

Sakariya has picked seven wickets for Rajasthan Royals in as many games so far in the IPL 2021 and in his debut against Punjab Kings he marked with the figures of 3/31.

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