Indian Premier League (IPL), they say, has changed the face of world cricket. Some talk about how the approach of players towards the game has changed, while others like Eoin Morgan say that it has helped cricket evolve in their country as well. Not to forget, Morgan is the captain of England cricket team, the current world champions.

Also, there is something more to how IPL has changed the lives of many. The league which is known as the world’s best has got many beautiful stories to tell. Each season of IPL, brings with itself some heart-warming stories. But the story it has got to tell this time is unique, heart-wrenching as well this time. Well, it has all the elements to make a Bollywood movie out of it.

The story is of a boy born in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar. He goes by the name of Chetan Sakariya. Like most of the kids of his age, Sakariya has a passion for cricket but his father, an auto driver, wants him to concentrate on studies. He tells him that the ‘rich man’s sport’ is not for him.

The words from his father doesn’t demotivate Chetan Sakariya as he continuously finds some ways to get on the cricket field. At 17, the ‘naive’ pacer, unaware of the concept of rehab and workload management, suffers an injury and stays away from the game for 7-8 months. This marks the arrival of Sakariya’s maternal uncle, who has a wholesale stationery dealership in Bhavnagar, in the picture.

A deal is made between Chetan Sakariya and his uncle — Part-time job at his business in return for covering all his expenses.

Sakariya’s hard work paid off when he got selected for the Saurashtra Under-19 side. In his first major tournament, the Cooch Behar Trophy, he picked up 18 wickets in 6 games, including 5 for 84 against Karnataka Under-19 to help his side to a first-innings lead. Saurashtra Cricket Association, took note of it and awarded him by sending him to the MRF Pace Foundation.

He impressed legendary Glenn McGrath at the trials

“He told me if I worked on my action and fitness, I could add another 5kph to my pace and be a 130kph bowler. He said if I could do that, I could at least play at the Ranji Trophy level,” McGrath had told him then.

Chetan Sakariya: When the pacer did not have shoes

Sakariya did not have a pair of shoes until his trials at the MRF Pace Foundation but another star player from Bhavnagar came to his rescue.

Sheldon Jackson, the domestic star for Saurashtra, was gearing up for an IPL season with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He is was in need of some good practice sessions and who better than Sakariya, the boy next door, to help him with it. Jackson put on a ‘high price’ on his wicket.

“That time he [Jackson] used to play IPL, so he was a big player for me. He told me if I could get him out, he would give me new spikes. Till then I didn’t have spikes of my own. Even at Cooch Behar, I played with someone else’s shoes. That day, I bowled him, and he gave me my first pair of spikes. When I went to the MRF Academy, I took those shoes with me.”

The big Ranji Trophy break

Jaydev Unadkat’s injury paved Chetan Sakariya’s way for a Ranji Trophy debut for Saurashtra during 2018-19 season. Having waited and strived hard for long and also not aware of the next opportunity, he took a five-for against Gujarat on his debut and ended up taking 29 wickets in the season.

He went back again to the MRF Pace Foundation for further improvement but ended up incurring a stress factor injury while training. Sakariya lost his rhythm and could manage only 12 wickets in six matches of the next Ranji season. However, he featured in the playing XI of the final and took a wicket to make a small contribution to Saurashtra’s massive win.

Sakariya draws timely attention

In a domestic calendar marred by coronavirus pandemic, Chetan Sakariya grabbed the limited opportunity which came at his hand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and picked up 12 wickets from 5 matches at an economy of 4.90. This helped him get noticed by the IPL talent scouts.

Sakariya, a net bowler of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2020 in UAE, gave trials at Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) before the latter notched him for Rs 1.2 crore in IPL 2020 mini-auction held in Chennai.

In a tragic event, the RR bowler’s younger brother died by suicide just before the auction. The news was not revealed to Sakariya for almost 2 weeks as he was focusing on his SMAT matches. The pacer did not talk and eat for a week after his mother broke down and revealed the news to him on the phone one day.

The gloomy and sad days are gone for the latest star on the block. He registered figures of 4-0-31-3 in his debut IPL match against Punjab Kings on Monday.

Rajasthan’s best bowler on the night picked up the prized wicket of Mayank Agarwal in his 2nd over and dismissed captain KL Rahul and Jhye Richardson later.

Chetan Sakariya’s father lives a happy retired life now. The family plans to reside to build their ‘dream home’ in Rajkot.