IPL Auction 2021: A month after losing brother, Chetan Sakariya makes it big

Given his time at Royal Challengers Bangalore nets last season, the 22-year-old Chetan impressed at the domestic T20 tournament with 12 wickets in five matches.
Left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya
Left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya

CHENNAI: The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season was make or break for most of the domestic cricketers especially with IPL auctions following it. Chetan Sakariya, a left-arm seamer representing Saurashtra in the domestic circuit, was no different. Given his time at Royal Challengers Bangalore nets last season, the 22-year-old Chetan impressed at the domestic T20 tournament with 12 wickets in five matches.

While he was making progress by leaps and bounds on the field, a big tragedy struck Sakariya family last month. Rahul, Chetan's younger brother, had died by suicide. "I was playing in the tournament when it happened. Nobody informed me about it. Whenever I enquired about him, they gave me excuses," Chetan, who was bought for Rs 1.2 crore by Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, told this daily.

Quite understandably, the family didn't want to distract Chetan by giving him the sad news. "He was working with my uncle. We still don't know the reasons but I hope he stays happy where ever he is," said Chetan.  

Giving his family a comfortable life including Rahul's marriage was on top of Chetan's agenda. As the brother is gone now, Chetan now wants to buy a house for his parents and younger sister in Rajkot. The family currently lives in Vartej, a small town ten kilometres from Bhavnagar in Gujarat.

"The Vartej house belongs to my grandfather. Apart from us, my uncle's family also stays here. I have seen a lot of houses in Rajkot, but haven't finalised one yet. Due to the pandemic, it would not be possible to finalise one at the moment. I will try to get it done after the IPL 2021," he added.  

Remembering his days at the RCB nets, the cricketer said he learnt a lot of variations there which helped him during the T20 tournament. "Head coach Simon Katich and director of cricket operations Mike Hesson were very helpful during my stint with the Bangalore franchise."

Chetan, who had spent around three years at the MRF Pace Academy, also credited former Australia legend, Glenn McGrath, for his success. "He (McGrath) taught me to be aggressive while bowling and always look for wickets. His advice was to read batsmen's mind and bowl accordingly."

Going into the 2021 IPL season, Chetan wants to add a few more weapons to his repertoire. "An in-swing delivery that comes in for the right-handed batsmen and back of the hand slower balls are my stock deliveries. The latter gave me the maximum wickets in the just-concluded T20 Trophy. I would like to learn knuckleball as it is very effective in the shortest format of the game. Besides, I would love to sharpen my yorkers before IPL begins."

Brother's untimely demise might have made Chetan think about shifting to Rajkot. While Rahul will always be there in his memory, the recent developments would definitely help Chetan to make a new beginning at a new place forgetting unpleasant stories from the past.

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