IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag heaps praise on RR’s tragic hero Chetan Sakariya

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag was full of praise for Rajasthan Royals’ new recruit Chetan Sakariya, who stole the show on Monday (April 12) night with his brilliant bowling performance against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

The 22-year-old was the pick of the Rajasthan bowlers, returned with the figures of 3/31 on his IPL debut. He struck in the third over to get rid of Mayank Agarwal (12) and then returned in the final over to dismiss KL Rahul (91) and Jhye Richardson (0).

Sakariya lost his brother, who committed suicide earlier this year, just before the IPL 14 auction in February. “Chetan Sakariya’s brother died of suicide few months ago, his parents didn't tell him for 10 days as he was playing the SMA trophy. What cricket means to these young men, their families. IPL is a true measure of the Indian dream & some stories of extraordinary grit. Great prospect,” Sehwag tweeted.

Chetan Sakariya's brother died of suicide few months ago,his parents didn't tell him for 10 days as he was playing the SMA trophy. What cricket means to these young men,their families .IPL is a true measure of the Indian dream & some stories of extraordinary gritGreat prospect pic.twitter.com/r0mISy9Asv — Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 12, 2021

Sakariya’s brilliant performance impressed Sehwag as the former cricketer lauded the youngster’s fearless approach and compared his temperament with former India left-arm seamers Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra.

“I’ve heard his name, even saw him bowl in domestic games but didn’t expect that he would bowl so well. You face different batters in the domestic circuit but in IPL, you come across big and renowned batsmen. We got to see his temperament. He was fearless,” Sehwag was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra always say that as a bowler, you should never be scared of getting hit for a boundary. Until you won’t get hit, you cannot learn and pick wickets. So, I think, he (Sakariya) exhibited that kind of temperament.

“He had variations as well. Though there were a few no-balls but overall, he bowled very well. The way he got Mayank Agarwal and surprised Chris Gayle with one of his deliveries, he was completely impressive,” he added.

The Saurashtra left-arm pacer was picked by Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the price of Rs 1.2 crore. In 16 T20s to date, Sakariya has picked 28 wickets at an average of 15.10, an economy rate of 7.08 and a strike rate of 12.70. He had a prolific Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) which handed him the IPL deal.

The son of a former tempo driver, Sakariya's family hails from Vartej, a small town ten kilometres west of Gujarat's Bhavnagar district. He used to copy Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan's actions while bowling.

The Rajasthan Royals, however, lost their opening encounter to Punjab Kings by 4 runs on Monday night in Mumbai. KL Rahul (91 off 50) and Deepak Hooda (64 off 28) powered Punjab Kings to an imposing 221 for six after being put in to bat on a batting beauty. In reply, RR captain Sanju Samson almost took Royals home with a breath-taking 119 off 63 balls.