Big revelation! Chetan Sakariya opens up on his depression while being a part of the Delhi team
Rishabh Pant- Ricky Ponting-Chetan Sakariya (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
The Indian T20 League 2022 concluded with the Gujarat team lifting the trophy under the leadership of Hardik Pandya. The four teams that played in the tournament’s playoffs were Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bangalore, and Lucknow. However, Delhi was one of the teams who stayed in contention for a spot in the top four till the final stages of the league phase.
Delhi boasted of a great pack of pace bowlers comprising Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleen Ahmed, and Shardul Thakur. The star-studded pace attack meant the promising bowler in Chetan Sakariya got very few chances to showcase his talents. The fact that his bowling style is similar to Rahman’s was the main reason that the Indian bowler got little chance to play during the tournament. Notably, Sakariya grabbed attention when the Delhi franchise bought him during the mega auction ahead of the Indian T20 League 2022 for a price of INR 4.2 Cr.
Sakariya ultimately managed to play just three matches in the tournament and that too towards the end of the league stages. Meanwhile, in a recent conversation with Sportskeeda, Sakariya revealed that he was depressed during the initial stages of the tournament as he was not able to make it to the playing eleven.
“When Delhi Capitals bought me, I did think that I would get to play all the games. I wasn’t demotivated when I didn’t play, but my confidence level dropped a bit and there was self-doubt. But there was a change in my mental toughness. I went into a shell in the initial 10-12 days of the IPL,”- said Sakariya.
In the same conversation, he revealed how the Head Coach of the team Ricky Ponting used to motivate him. Sakariya also stated that the assistant coach of the team Shane Watson also looked to revive his mental health while he was feeling low.
“Ricky sir also knew this thing. He always used to come and talk and used to tell that there needs to be frustration, only then you are a true player. This is what motivates you to do better when an opportunity comes. Shane Watson Sir realized that I was feeling low and although I was focusing on practice, something was off. So, sir called me in his room and spoke at length about many things. That made me feel a lot better,”- Sakariya added.
