Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI
Dreams do come true and there are so many examples from the world that prove just that. The latest to join this list is young speedster Chetan Sakariya. The left-arm fast bowler from Bhavnagar made his international debut in an ODI fixture against Sri Lanka on Friday, fulfilling a dream that he and his father had sowed together. Unfortunately, though, the 23-year-old's father breathed his last earlier this year and could not watch Chetan don the Indian blues.
Sakariya's Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals has now shared a video depicting his inspiring journey. At the beginning of the video, Sakariya can be seen recalling a conversation with his father where the latter told him how one needs money and political influence to succeed in the sport and it's a dream perhaps out of reach for Chetan. However, that made the Saurashtra bowler more determined to leave a mark and has now even made him an international cricketer.
The remainder of the video is all about Sakariya's meteoric rise from domestic cricket to IPL and now at the international stage. "Chetan Sakariya's Story “I’m Chetan Sakariya. And this is my story.” ??? #RoyalsFamily | #HallaBol | @sakariya.chetan," the franchise based at Jaipur captioned the video.
Check out the video here:
It should be noted that not only did Sakariya lose his father, his brother also passed away earlier in the year leaving the young pacer as the sole breadwinner of the family. While growing up, he also used to work at his maternal uncle's stationery shop as the family struggled to make ends meet. His maternal uncle, in return, financed a big part of his cricketing expenses.
In fact, it was also reported that there were times when he couldn't afford shoes for himself and even received a pair of shoes from fellow Bhavnagar cricketer Sheldon Jackson. Although Sakaria eventually finished with figures of 2/32 in his debut match for Team India, his team lost the match but managed to take the series 2-1. Given the promise he has shown in his pretty young career so far, one can only hope that he goes on to achieve big things for India and fulfil all the dreams that he and his father dreamt together.