IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag praises Chetan Sakariya's fearless approach
Virender Shewag has heaped praise on Chetan Sakariya and compared the Rajasthan Royals seamer's temperament with Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan. Sakariya made his IPL debut against the Punjab Kings and returned with impressive figures of 3-31.
With both teams crossing the 200-run mark, Chetan Sakariya's efforts were all the more impressive as almost every bowler from both teams found it difficult to contain the batsmen. Virender Sehwag highlighted the 22-year-old's fearless approach and said in an interaction with Cricbuzz:
"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. 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."
Although Chetan Sakariya overstepped on a few occasions, Sehwag credited the youngster over his variations.
"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,” the former India batsman added.
The Royals picked up Chetan Sakariya for ₹1.2 crore at the IPL 2021 Auction. The 22-year-old was a net bowler for the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year. He was also part of the Saurashtra team that won the Ranji Trophy in March 2020.
The bowler had a fantastic outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, which concluded before the IPL auction. Sakariya picked 12 wickets in five matches at an impressive economy rate of 4.90.
Chetan Sakariya, however, had to overcome a personal tragedy recently as he lost his elder brother, who committed suicide just three weeks before the IPL 2021 Auction
Chetan Sakariya's impressive IPL debut goes in vain
Chetan Skaraiya's impressive performance with the ball went in vain as the Royals lost by four runs while chasing 222 for victory against the Punjab Kings. Sanju Samson's brilliant 119-run knock brought the RR on the cusp of victory, but the skipper couldn't see his side home.
Chetan Sakariya dismissed Mayank Agarwal in his first spell and then went on to pick up the wickets of KL Rahul and Jhye Richardson in the final over of the innings.
The left-arm bowler, who also took an outstanding catch at short fine-leg, will be eager to maintain his form in the RR's next IPL outing against the Delhi Capitals on Thursday.