Who is Chetan Sakariya? All about RR's uncapped bowler who won ₹1.2 CR deal for IPL 2021

Uncapped Indian cricketer Chetan Sakariya set the cash registers ringing at the Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL 2021) auction. Having placed his base value at ₹20 lakh, the left-arm speedster was purchased by the Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.2 crore. As Sakariya now gears up to play for the franchise in the upcoming IPL 2021 season, here is a look back at his journey and his rise as a professional cricketer.

IPL 2021 auction: Chetan Sakariya IPL 2021 contract

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Chetan Sakariya IPL 2021: Cricketer’s journey before joining the Rajasthan Royals

Chetan Sakariya hails from Gujarat and he plays domestic cricket for Saurashtra, one of the three first-class teams of the state. The speedster made his debut in competitive cricket during the 2017-18 Indian domestic home season. Since then, he has turned up for Saurashtra in 15 first-class matches, one List A match and 16 T20s.

Quite recently, the 22-year-old enjoyed a golden run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament. Featuring in all five matches for his side, the talented pacer picked up 12 wickets, including a match-winning spell of 5-11 against Vidarbha in one of the matches. He took his wickets at an average of 8.16 and maintained an economy rate of 4.90. 

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Apparently, Chetan Sakariya had humble beginnings in his career before he landed a lucrative IPL deal for himself. According to India.com, his father was a tempo driver who left his job two years ago to feed his family. Up until five years, the youngster attended his friend’s houses to watch cricket matches as he did not own a TV.

Chetan Sakariya will now be seen rubbing shoulders with some of the modern-day legends of the game. Under the leadership of Sanju Samson, Sakariya will be joining the likes of 2019 Cricket World Cup winners Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes among others in the Rajasthan Royals squad. He will also play under the guidance of legendary players like Shane Warne and Kumar Sangakkara, as both of them are part of the franchise's support staff.

Chetan Sakariya in action with magnum opus bowling spell, watch video

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RR players list after IPL 2021 auction

On January 20, the Rajasthan Royals announced a list of all their retentions for the IPL 2021 season. They retained as many as 17 cricketers, including Sanju Samson and overseas stars Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and David Miller among others. Moreover, they also appointed Samson as their new captain after letting go of Steve Smith.

At the IPL 2021 auction, they added eight more cricketers to their squad. Apart from Chetan Sakariya, they purchased Chris Morris, Liam Livingstone and Shivam Dube. Here is a look at the entire list of RR players for the much-awaited IPL 2021 season.

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Image source: BCCI Domestic Twitter