It is the difficult environment that matures, carves, and sows zeal in the mind and body. All this applies to our Tamil Nadu player, Chinnappampatti Yorker Natarajan.
Natarajan has made his mark in the DNPL, IPL and Indian team only after training in tennis bowling, poor environment and hard work.
Rajasthan fast bowler Chetan Zakaria has come under the same difficult environment as Natarajan and has raised eyebrows as to who is this fast bowler in the same match.
The bowling that made me look back
Chetan Zachariah’s bowling in yesterday’s match against Punjab Kings in Mumbai was well received by all. For the inexperienced Chetan Zakaria, he bowled so well that it could not be called an IPL debut.
Zachariah, who bowled 4 overs, gave up 31 runs and took 3 wickets. He threw 13 dot balls and looked back. Zachariah, who took one wicket for just 5 runs in the 20th over, also made an amazing catch in the field.
Poor environment
Chetan Zakaria, 23, is located 180 km from Rajkot in the state of Gujarat. He hails from a remote village called Vardej. Dad works as a tempo van driver. There was an older brother. He committed suicide a few weeks before the IPL series auction due to some issues.
Since his father has not been able to drive a tempo van for the past few years, Zachariah has gone to work and got involved in cricket and training. Chetan Zachariah’s family runs on income.
Competition in the auction
In 2020, the RCB team had Chetan Zachariah as their web coach. But IPL executives, who saw Chetan Zakaria bowling for Saurashtra, who won the Ranji Trophy last year, targeted Zakaria.
The Rajasthan team bought the Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.20 crore in an auction last February. Of course that amount was not wasted. Zachariah’s bowling was talked about yesterday against Punjab.
Like Natarajan …
His fastball has attracted students since the 11th and 12th grades at Zachariah School. Zachariah, who grew up in poverty, had no formal training and no coaches. Until the age of 16, Zachariah practiced bowling on a tennis ball and looked at cricket-related websites and practiced on his own.
Zachariah’s strength lies in his swing bowling and line-length. 130 km on average. Zachariah, who bowls at speed, can also increase speed with proper training. Zachariah bowls in the style of Pakistan fast bowler Junaid Khan.
How was it identified?
Zachariah was noticed when he took 18 wickets in the Cooch Behar cricket match last 6 years ago. Zachariah took 5 for 84 against Karnataka in the Under-19s. Zachariah was subsequently identified and given an incentive to help him train at McCarthy’s MRF Base Foundation.
Zachariah made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2018-19. Zakaria has played in only 15 first-class matches and 16 T20 matches so far. Zachariah, who took 12 wickets for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy in March last year, had an economy of only 4.96. His excellent bowling impressed everyone.
Not even the “shoe”
Zachariah did not even have proper shoes during training. Shelton Jackson, a senior player in the Saurashtra team, bought him a new shoe and helped him train. Only then did Zachariah get the chance to go to the MRF Base Foundation. Jackson and Zachariah then became close friends.
Uncle’s help
Zachariah only goes to work and the family is running on that income. But as Zachariah went on training and competitions for several days, his mother took care of the family’s needs. He advised and supported Zakaria to focus only on cricket and did whatever help was needed for the family.
Zakaria, out of curiosity, suffered from poor health while practicing intensive bowling. The situation was such that he could not play for almost a year. At that time, Zachariah’s mother took care of his medical expenses and his family’s needs. In addition, Zachariah’s mother paid for his college education and exams.
Zachariah has made everyone look back by showing off his talent in a match in the IPL series.