5 Inspirational life stories of IPL cricketers

3. Chetan Sakariya

Chetan Sakariya’s life-transforming struggle is not only an inspirational story but also emotional grief. Not long ago, while playing his SMAT matches for Saurashtra, Chetan Sakariya’s younger brother lost his life by suicide and his family didn’t inform him about his brother’s demise for ten days. Just to not affect his game, Chetan was later informed by his mother which eventually numbed him at least for a week. However, since the IPL auction was doing the rounds at that time, Chetan bagged an IPL deal with RR for Rs. 1.2 Crores which at the end brought a monumental boost for the family both emotionally and financially.

Coming from a family where his father is a lorry driver but is now bedridden because of facing three accidents and some surgeries, Chetan is now the only income earner of his family. His left-arm pace bowling is a self-learned craft that mainly has been developed by playing tennis ball cricket. While playing U-19 cricket, Chetan Sakariya had fetched a scholarship which paved the way for him to join the MRF Pace Foundation.

To join the academy, Chetan didn’t have the luxury to get his running boots, but by training with the first-class cricketers of Saurashtra, it was Sheldon Jackson who handed him the pairs after dismissing him in the nets. In his debut game for RR, Chetan Sakariya had a remarkable outing as he scalped three wickets at an economy of 7.8. All in all, with such a kind of fortitude, this left-arm pacer might soon find himself playing for the country.