Chetan Sakariya, the latest pace sensation of Rajasthan Royals felt scalping the prized wicket of the CSK skipper MS Dhoni was something ‘unreal’. He admitted that MS Dhoni’s wicket was his favourite out of the 7 wickets he pocketed in as many matches.
The Indian Premier League has been acting as the launchpad for young cricketing talents. This year, the tournament came to an abrupt halt as the rising cases of Covid-19 in its bio bubbles forced the organizers of the league to suspend it indefinitely. But before that, the league introduced a fresh pace talent called Chetan Sakariya.
Chetan Sakariya Admits MS Dhoni’s Wicket Was His Favourite And It Felt Unreal As He Was Happily Shocked
The Rajasthan Royals’ left-arm quick was one of the highlights of the season. Despite a loose start, Chetan Sakariya hogged the limelight in match no. 12, against Chennai Super Kings.
The 23-year-old dismissed the likes of veteran experienced CSK batsmen Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, and MS Dhoni and became the star of the night despite his team losing the encounter. In a conversation with Sportstar, the newcomer admitted that MS Dhoni’s wicket was his favourite out of the 7 wickets he pocketed in as many matches.
“Dhoni’s wicket was my favourite. I was happily shocked. It felt unreal. If you see the video, you will know how shocked I was,” Sakariya told Sportstar.
Chetan Sakariya also spoke about the pressure of playing in IPL for the first time. He explained how bowling against some of the great batsmen helped him gain confidence.
“Initially, I felt the pressure but later on, I handled that. I bowled a few good spells to some great batsmen. I never thought I would bowl to them someday. That gave me a lot of confidence. I think I bowled better than I thought I would. I have to improve but I am happy with my performance,” he said.
The pacer from Saurashtra did reasonably well in his maiden IPL season after he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 1.20 Cr during the player auction ahead of the IPL 2021. The youngster came into this year’s IPL on the brink of some impressive performances in the recently concluded domestic tournaments- Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy and made a mark for RR.
Chetan Sakariya: Mustafizur Rahaman Is A Good Reader Of The Wicket While Jos Buttler Asked Not To Bowl A Loose Delivery
During his stint with the Rajasthan Royals, pacer Chetan Sakariya shared the dressing room with senior players like England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman.
Speaking about the inputs he received from them, he said, “Mustafizur is a good reader of the wicket. He will tell you when to bowl your slower delivery. He knows how to unsettle the rhythm of a batsman.”
“Buttler, though a batsman, told me a lot about bowling in the Powerplay. He would stand beside me when I bowled during the practice games. He told me to stick to the length and not worry about conceding a boundary. It’s just that there should not be a single loose delivery,” he said.
Chetan Sakasriya also picked the scalps of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Jhye Richardson, Nitish Rana besides the CSK trio of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu. He has 7 scalps bowling 27 overs averaging 31.71 at a strike rate of 23.14 and economy of 8.22.
As soon he reached his home at Vartej in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, medium-pacer Chetan Sakariya wore his PPE kit and rushed to a nearby hospital where his father Kanjibhai has been admitted after testing positive for Covid-19. Chetan Sakariya had got a call last week that his father had tested positive and was admitted to the hospital.
A few months ago, on the day he became a crorepati at the IPL 2021 auction, he had one regret. Just months before that, he had lost his younger brother, who he was very close to. He says that the unexpected windfall of Rs 1.20 crore will change his life but he feels an emptiness inside due to his brother’s demise.