File image of Indian cricket team pacer Chetan Sakariya (right)© AFP
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction saw a distinct trend with fast bowlers being in demand. The top buys of the auction Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders) and Pat Cummins (Rs 20.50 crore, SunRisers Hyderabad) show that trend. Even the costliest Indian in the IPL 2024 auction Harshal Patel (Punjab Kings, Rs 11.75 crore) is a pacer. Even Yash Daya got a Rs 5 crore bid from Royal Challengers Bangalore. Left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya, who has formerly played for Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals, was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 50 lakh.
Chetan Sakariya, who has played one ODI and two T20Is, was picked up by Delhi Capitals for a whooping Rs 4.20 crore ahead of the IPL 2022. However, he was released ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
“I wasn’t shocked but I was a bit disappointed. But from the team’s perspective, they made the right decision. I wasn’t able to perform to the level that was expected from me. Maybe I didn’t do justice to my price tag. They already have several Indian options in Ishant (Sharma) Bhai, Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Bhai. After I didn’t hit the ground running, I naturally went back in the pecking order,” Chetan Sakariya told Sportskeeda.
He added that he learnt a lot from Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman. “I used to speak a lot with Mustafizur Bhai and he used to guide me a lot about how to plan each delivery and how to make full use of the field placements. It just mesmerized me as to just how much a bowler can think about adjusting the field and helped me in my game. I hope I get to learn a lot from Mitchell Starc tol and add a lot more to my armoury.”
Sakariya is excited to work with Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir in the upcoming edition.
“When the auction was going on, I just had one wish in my mind that I would want to get picked where I would get maximum opportunities to play. Of course I will have to perform well that’s always a given. I just wanted game-time felt there were only two teams who were looking to fill their slots in the bowling department and KKR was one of them. The money didn’t matter, I just wanted to go to a team where I would get gametime,” he said.
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