'Chetan Sakariya Exhibited What Zaheer And Nehra Used to Say' - Virender Sehwag Praises RR Debutant

Chetan Sakariya made his IPL debut on Monday and produced a memorable performance for Rajasthan Royals even though it came in a losing cause vs Punjab Kings. Sakariya, a left-hand pacer, returned impressive figures of 3/31 that included the scalps of PBKS openers Mayank Agarwal (14) and KL Rahul (91).

Alongside spinner Riyan Parag, who bowled just one over, Sakariya was among the two RR bowlers to escape thrashing at the Wankhede Stadium as Punjab posted a mammoth 221/6 after being sent in to bat first.

While analysing the 23-year-old’s performance on debut, batting legend Virender Sehwag praised the bowler for his fearlessness and match temperament against some of the biggest hitters in T20 cricket.

“I’ve heard his name, even saw him bowl in domestic games but didn’t expect that he would bowl so well. You face different batters in the domestic circuit but in IPL, you come across big and renowned batsmen. We got to see his temperament. He was fearless,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

Sakariya, who opened the bowling for RR, was hit for two fours before he removed Agarwal in his second over. Then in the innings’  final over, he also put the brakes on Rahul’s assault before finishing off with the scalp of Jhye Richardson (0).

Sehwag added Sakariya channeled the philosophy of former India left-arm pacers Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra who believe that a bowler should never be scared of being hit for boundaries.

“Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra always say that as a bowler, you should never be scared of getting hit for a boundary. Until you won’t get hit, you cannot learn and pick wickets. So, I think, he (Sakariya) exhibited that kind of temperament,” Sehwag observed.

“He had variations as well. Though there were a few no-balls but overall, he bowled very well. The way he got Mayank Agarwal and surprised Chris Gayle with one of his deliveries, he was completely impressive,” Sehwag added.

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• ashish nehra
• Chetan Sakariya
• IPL 2021
• Rajasthan Royals
• virender sehwag
• zaheer khan