Chetan Sakariya, the Saurashtra fast–bowler made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 12, 2021, against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and impressed one and all with his skills and aggression.
Sakariya, 23, who hails from Valtej, Bhavnagar wanted to be a batsman but turned to become a fast bowler due to them getting more attention in the school. Sakariya started his formal cricket training at the age of 16 and has played 15 FC matches, 7 List-A matches, and 17 T20s for Saurashtra thus far and has 82 wickets in all.
Chetan Sakariya (Image Credit: Twitter)
He then gave trials with Mumbai Indians and the Royals and was also the net bowler for the Royal Challengers Bangalore contingent in UAE for IPL 2020. Earlier this season, he picked up 12 wickets in five Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches at an economy of 4.90.
I Hope Nobody Goes Through The Pain And Struggles We Went Through: Chetan Sakariya’s Mother
Sakariya was eventually picked up by the Royals at the February auction for INR 1.2 crores, but it was a bitter-sweet moment for him and his family, as he had lost his younger brother, who died by suicide just three weeks prior to that. Sakariya was shell-shocked to know about his brother’s death, as he was very close to him.
His mother spoke about the tragedy and how the family didn’t tell Chetan Sakariya about this because he was playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“I hope nobody goes through the pain and struggles we went through. My second child, a son who was a year younger to Chetan, committed suicide a month ago. Chetan was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at that time, which he finished as the sixth-highest wicket-taker. We didn’t inform him about his brother’s death for the first 10 days as we didn’t want his game to be affected. All we told him was that his father wasn’t keeping well,” his mother said in an interview with aroundthewicket.com.
“Every time Chetan would call to ask about his father’s health, he would ask us to make him speak to his brother. But I’d change the topic. I wouldn’t let him speak to his father too because I knew my husband would tell him the truth. But one day, I broke down on the call. After knowing of his brother’s death, Chetan didn’t speak to anybody for a week. Neither did he eat. The two brothers were very close,” she added.
Chetan Sakariya remains the sole bread-winner for his family as his father is bedridden from multiple accidents he suffered as a lorry driver and the 23-year-old worked at his maternal uncle’s stationery shop to make ends meet. He used to make bills, tally accounts, update passbooks, issue cheques, and take care of payments among other duties.
Chetan Sakariya with MRF Pace academy chief Glenn McGrath (Photo- Twitter)
“Ever since Chetan’s IPL contract, the media has been calling us daily. We start getting calls from 8am. My son worked very hard for this,” his mother said.
Chetan Sakariya was the best bowler for his team despite RR’s 4-run defeat to PBKS, and picked 3/31 in his 4 overs.
