IPL 2021 Auction: Chetan Sakariya was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.2 crore.© Instagram
The IPL 2021 Auction witnessed another rags to riches story as uncapped left-arm fast bowler Chetan Sakariya was bought for Rs 1.2 crore by Rajasthan Royals. Despite a hugely successful auction, Chetan Sakariya feels a huge void as he lost his younger brother who died by suicide last month. His family members didn’t inform him about his brother’s death for many days, making one excuse or the other, as he was playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Apart from Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) also showed keen interest in acquiring the services of the 22-year-old Saurashtra fast bowler but RR managed to grab him after an intense bidding battle. Sakariya was part of the RCB set-up as a net bowler during last year’s IPL in the UAE.
“My younger brother committed suicide in January. I wasn’t at home, I was playing Syed Mushtaq Ali at that time. I didn’t know he had passed away until I returned home. Even then, my family didn’t share the news with me. I used to ask them about Rahul’s whereabouts and they would tell me ‘he has gone out’. Sometimes , they would say he had ventured out to buy groceries. This absence is a big void for me. Had he been here today he would have been more happy than me,” Sakariya was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Chetan Sakariya comes from a humble background and his father used to drive a tempo in order to put food on the table for his family members. Sakariya said he never liked his father toiling so hard and after becoming capable enough he told his father that he doesn’t need to work anymore as he will take care of the family. When asked about what he intends to do with the huge money that will come his way after a bumper deal, he said plans to buy a house in Rajkot as he always wanted to shift there.
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“I never wanted him to work, I told him, I will take care of my family. People are asking me, what I will do with so much money, I said, let the money come first. I always wanted to shift to Rajkot, somehow I didn’t have decent money to buy a good house. Now, the first thing I will do is buy a house in a good locality,” he said.
Apart from Sakariya, Rajasthan Royals also splashed big to sign South Africa All-rounder Chris Morris at a whopping Rs. 16.25 crore and India all-rounder Shivam Dube for Rs 4.40 crore, The franchise also picked up Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman for a bargain price of Rs 1 crore. Sakariya was Rajasthan’s third-most expensive buy in this year’s auction.
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