চেতন সাকারিয়া

Chetain Sakariya’s is a story that’ll go on to inspire many and he hasn’t even finished it yet. Hailing from the small town of Vartej in Gujarat, Sakariya, like many other Indian teenagers from a modest background, was discouraged from taking up the sport. A government job, his parents believed, would be the ideal career that would grant their son stability and comfort. Always having a fascination for the game, Sakariya started off wanting to become a batter but switched to bowling left-arm pace because that’s what got eyes looking at him at school.

With his parents unsupportive of his cricketing dreams, Sakariya has his maternal uncle to thank for standing behind him and supporting him when the times were tough. Spotted playing tennis-ball cricket in odd tournaments and playing for his school team, Sakariya found himself training at the Sir Bhavsinhji Cricket Academy under Rajendra Gohil. It didn’t take the youngster long to break into Saurashtra’s U16 side but a major setback was looming. Unaware of the stresses fast-bowling has on the body, Sakariya ended up pushing himself through a glute-injury, further aggravating it to end up getting sidelined for the majority of the following year.

Sakariya’s real break came when he was selected in Saurashtra’s U19 squad to play the Cooch Behar Trophy. His 18 wickets from 6 games were impressive enough for Saurashtra to send him to the MRF Pace Foundation. His dedication and hard work coupled with some insights from the legendary Glenn McGrath meant that Sakariya forced his way into Saurashtra’s side for the 2018-19 season. While not getting a game in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and playing just one in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, an injury to senior pacer Jaydev Unadkat gave Sakariya the big break he so badly desired in the Ranji Trophy. He impressed immediately and scalped 29 wickets from just 8 games. While a stress fracture kept him out of action thereafter, Sakariya didn’t stop striving.

Hardships weren’t anything new to Sakariya. Growing up in a household of five, finances were tight - so much so that Sakariya didn’t own a pair of cricketing spikes until he was gifted a pair by senior Saurashtra player Sheldon Jackson just before attending the MRF Pace Academy. His father, a transport driver, was forced to give up the profession due to ill health, leaving Sakariya as the only breadwinner of the family. He saw his fortunes change dramatically, however, when he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for a sum of INR 1.2 crore in the 2021 IPL Auction - a sum that was life-changing. It came, however, on the back of a personal tragedy. Just weeks earlier when Sakariya was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, unbeknownst to him, his beloved younger brother had committed suicide. Powering through that tragedy, Sakariya had an impressive IPL - picking up 14 wickets from as many games. Sakariya’s joy, however, was short-lived as his father passed away due to Covid-19 towards the end of that IPL.

Braving whatever life threw his way, Sakariya made a meteoric rise through the cricketing circuit through sheer dedication. His persistence netted him a spot in India’s limited-overs squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in 2021 and he made both his ODI and T20I debuts. He saw his stocks at the IPL rise as well after he was bought by the Delhi Capitals for INR 4.2 crore in the 2022 IPL Auction.

By Anurag Hegde