Former India opener Aakash Chopra on Monday (May 10) showered rich praise on Chetan Sakariya, hailing the left-arm pacer as one of the most impressive uncapped players of IPL 2021.

Featuring in his maiden IPL season, Sakariya claimed 7 wickets in as many matches for Rajasthan Royals before the tournament was suspended due to rising COVID-19 cases in the bio-bubble.

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Sakariya, who was bought for Rs 1.20 crore at the auction, returned with the figures of 3-31 in his 4 overs on IPL debut, which included the wickets of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. He also took the prized scalp of the legendary CSK skipper MS Dhoni.

“Sakariya took all of us by surprise. He is the real deal. How impressive he has been, he can make the ball go out and come in. He has both the back of the hand and a normal slower one. Even if he gets hit, he has the talent of quickly bouncing back and with the same level of confidence. If you talk about temperament and technique, there is a lot to like about him. I think Indian cricket can see a rising star in Chetan Sakariya,” Chopra said in a video posted on his youtube channel.

Besides Sakariya, the likes of Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Harpreet Brar, and Ravi Bishnoi also impressed Aakash Chopra with their stellar showing in the 29 games of the cash-rich event.

Commenting on Delhi Capitals’ Avesh Khan, the cricketer-turned-commentator said: “The first name I have written is Avesh Khan. He has impressed a lot this year because Nortje was not there and even Rabada was not there in the beginning. He bowled consistently well right from the first match where he struck Faf on the pads and MS Dhoni's stumps.”

Showering accolades on RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal, Chopra said: “He played just the one destructive huge knock but it was fantastic. You can see a different quality in this player. How many uncapped Indian players can say that they have scored a century? It is very very difficult but he has done that.”