On Friday, Team India faced Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI game with a lead of 2-0. Among the 5 players that debuted, one of them was 22-year-old Rajasthan Royals pacer Chetan Sakariya, who picked up his maiden wicket in the form of Bhanuka Rajapaksa as he dropped him 11 runs later.
Wakanda forever!
Two wickets in seven balls for this youngster 🙅#Wolf777News #SLvIND #TeamIndia #India #chetansakariya #sakariya #Wolf777
Content by @ESPNcricinfo pic.twitter.com/ZYwW5gU0j1
— Wolf777News (@Wolf777news) July 23, 2021
As per a report in News18, Sakariya’s second wicket was when a slower ball deceived Dhananjaya de Silva and he was bowled. His bowling figures of his first One-day match read: 8-0-34-2.
Made a impressive debut in international cricket with 2-34.💥💥
Hope this man continues this..#ChetanSakariya #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/zwwrgJeyvD— Bobby💫 (@prathinnnn) July 23, 2021
Cricket fans who have followed the left-arm pacer’s journey know that it had been a tumultuous year for him after his father Kanjibhai succumbed to the coronavirus earlier this year, and he lost his brother in January 2021. Sakariya revealed that the payment he received from his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals helped his family in their ‘toughest times’ as he was the only breadwinner in his family, with cricket as his sole income.
After getting wicket by chetan sakariya every fans:#INDvSL #SLvsIND @rajasthanroyals #chetansakariya pic.twitter.com/7ErIei78T0
— Mayank15 (@mayankdongre3) July 23, 2021
Desi Twitter left no stone unturned to laud his inspiring journey:
Journey of #chetansakariya to Debut In ODI. #indvssl2021
– Net bowler in IPL 2020.
– Lost his brother in January 2021.
– Had a good IPL 2021.
– Lost his father in May 2021.
– Making India debut in July 2021.🔥🔥Inspirational 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/z0TolWUY1x
— Sahil Khan (@SAHIL9772) July 23, 2021
Chetan Sakariya saw lot's of ups & downs in his life, finally his hard work pays of.#chetansakariya #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/lQNBst1glN
— Nilesh Gadhavi 🇮🇳 (@NSGadhavi) July 23, 2021
So happy for #ChetanSakariya, his story so far is nothing but inspirational..Struggled financially, lost brother and father yet did not lose hope…go well @Sakariya55 this is just the beginning of a long successful career 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ksF4hI0Xz6
— Mayank Pandey 🇮🇳 (@MayankP44023549) July 23, 2021
Born in a poor family, this young lad dared to dream. Lost his brother to suicide and his father to COVID in a span of a few months. Didn’t stop dreaming. Today, he makes his India debut. Today, he fulfils his dream.
Take a bow Chetan Sakariya, you deserve this.#SLvsIND pic.twitter.com/4zPaU5BYEV
— Aari (@aari_stocrat) July 23, 2021
So Happy for Chetan Sakariya. Guy lost his Brother, His Father, was Financially Taken aback. And today he is making debut for India.
A proper left arm bowler and can swing too. India needs him. Hope he outperforms everyone in the bowling unit. Deserves every Happiness ❤️
— Aditya Pandey (@Tweet_by_Aditya) July 23, 2021
Lost His Father & Brother , Selected to SL Series as a net bowler , Got Opportunity to Play the Final ODI & Giving Brkthru to India On Critical Stage Sakariya Gets his Debut Wkt 🔥#INDvsSL
— Arun Vijay (@AVinthehousee) July 23, 2021
Sakariya is having a Great day
A brilliant Catch, 2 very good wicket on debut!!!
His father, brother must be happy from heaven!!
Way to go lad!!
Make your father, brother and nation more proud!! #chetansakariya#INDvSL #SLvsIND— Gaurav Taparia (@whogaurav12) July 23, 2021
Congratulations on the huge achievement, Chetan Sakariya!