new delhi, Aug 19
His entire life flashed before his eyes when he geared up to bowl on his international debut, says young pacer Chetan Sakariya, reflecting on his journey in India colours during the recent limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka.
The 23-year-old had a meteoric rise in the past six months as he first impressed in the IPL after being picked up by Rajasthan Royals and then went on to represent India, claiming three wickets in the two T20Is and one ODI against Sri Lanka.‘When I was preparing to bowl that first ball, I had a couple of minutes to go through marking my run-up, warming up etc, and in that moment, I could see a flashback of everything that had unfolded in my life – the good, the bad, the sacrifices, the support, the criticism – everything.‘So, it was emotional but gave me a lot of motivation to do well and that was the thought in my mind,’ the left-arm pacer from Saurashtra, who had lost his father to COVID-19 in May, said in a release issued by his IPL franchise RR.Sakariya came into the limelight when he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction for Rs 1.2 crores and he impressed with seven wickets in as many matches in the first phase of IPL.‘…to make it to the Indian team, it has been a dream come true. When I first heard of it, there were a lot of thoughts in my head, but I was unable to believe it,’ he said.‘I pinched myself because I was wondering if it was even true. I didn’t think of it in a way that I would get to play or not, just being a part of that dressing room was a huge moment for me.’
