Chetan Sakariya's story is one of extraordinary grit

There are a lot of things that are easier said than done. One of them is “Never give up.” Rarely do we try to understand what the person is going through before advising things along those lines. Let us imagine a situation. A young boy from a small town called Vartej in Gujarat. The boy has a dream of being a professional cricketer. He has never had formal training until the age of 16. He is the only bread earner in the family and is forced to balance work and cricket coaching before he has even turned 18. He is even forced to borrow boots for cricket training since he cannot afford them. At 22, he loses his younger brother to suicide. If you were to say something like “Never give up” to him, how much of a difference do you think it would make in his life?

Well, as it turns out, the boy never gave up anyway, and in 2021, made his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Yes, this is the story of a young lad called Chetan Sakariya. He might have been on the losing side against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), but he certainly emerged as a hero. He is a winner, a champion, a fighter. And he has an innate talent for the gentleman’s game. His performance in his debut IPL game stands testament to it. Sakariya dismissed Jhye Richardson, Mayank Agarwal, and the dangerous KL Rahul.

He first impressed for Saurashtra U-19 when he picked 18 wickets in six games in the Cooch Behar trophy in 2015. Sakariya has not looked back since. As the story goes, he could not even afford boots for Saurashtra’s senior team training. He used to share boots with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player Sheldon Jackson. His domestic record is nothing short of staggering. He has taken 41 First-Class wickets in 15 games and 28 domestic T20 wickets in 16 games.  

He had earlier been on trial with the Mumbai Indians (MI) and his current franchise RR. Little known fact, he was a part of the 2020 IPL in UAE. He was a member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a net bowler. The Royals signed him in the 2021 IPL auction for Rs 1.2 crore. However, the auction might not have been on young Sakariya’s mind. Three weeks before the auction, Chetan lost his younger brother who died by suicide.

Fast forward to today, he started ahead of his Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat for the Royals, and he deserves it. His performance against the Punjab Kings was exceptional, enthralling, and inspiring. Exactly like his story. If hardships do make a person who they are, the world of cricket might wake up tomorrow to an absolute genius of the game.

Sakariya is proof that dreams sometimes do come true. Yes, it will take everything one has, and more. It will entail an unbearable amount of mental and physical pressure. It will bring you down to your lowest point. But if one overcomes all of that as Sakariya has done, then the end result is beautiful, and it will feel worth it. Chetan Sakariya, no matter how his career turns out to be, is already a legend.