Bhavnagar-born left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya’s father Kanjibhai succumbed to Covid-19 and passed away on Sunday. Sakariya’s father was admitted to a private hospital in Bhavnagar, Gujarat while he was still in the Indian Premier League (IPL) bio-bubble.

After the suspension of IPL 2021, Sakariya reached his home at Vartej and went to see his father wearing a PPE kit. In a tweet, the RR franchise expressed their condolences and promised to lent their support.

“It pains us so much to confirm that Mr Kanjibhai Sakariya lost his battle with Covid-19 earlier today. We’re in touch with Chetan and will provide all possible support to him and his family in this difficult time,” RR wrote in a tweet.

It pains us so much to confirm that Mr Kanjibhai Sakariya lost his battle with Covid-19 earlier today.

We’re in touch with Chetan and will provide all possible support to him and his family in this difficult time.

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 9, 2021

Saurashtra Cricket Association also condoled the passing of the 23-year-old’s father as well.

Everyone in SCA conveys heartfelt sympathies to @Sakariya55 on sad demise of his father and pray the Almighty to give enough strength to everyone in his family to bear the loss and grant eternal peace to departed noble soul. #rip pic.twitter.com/ZCh5X1jFGM

— Saurashtra Cricket (@saucricket) May 9, 2021

The left-arm pacer made his debut in RR’s first match of the season. He picked up three wickets for 31 runs on his IPL debut including Punjab Kings openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Before the suspension of IPL, Sakariya played seven games and took seven wickets with an average of 31.71 and an economy rate of 8.22.

The southpaw’s father was a tempo driver before he retired. In an interview with indianexpress.com, Sakariya said that the part payment he received from the franchise was being used for the treatment of his father. The youngster was picked by the franchise for Rs 1.2 crore in the auction.