As Chetan Sakariya was wheeled into the operation theatre for an emergency surgery at 2am at Mumbai's Hinduja Hospital in July 2024, he feared for his life.
Hours earlier, at home in his village outside Bhavnagar, Sakariya had tried to pull out a bunch of keys through the broken glass of a showcase when a large shard pierced his left wrist.
"It cut my main nerve," Sakariya tells to ESPNcricinfo in Bengaluru, where he's Saurashtra's second-highest wicket-taker in their run to the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. "Blood was gushing out uncontrollably even though I somehow tied a cloth tightly around my wrist. I began to feel dizzy. That's when I genuinely feared I may not survive."
The accident struck at what should have been a joyous phase in Sakariya's life. Just two months earlier, he had been part of Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) title-winning IPL campaign, and barely a week before the incident, he had begun a new chapter in his life - he had married.
Sakariya rushed to the only government hospital that was open in his village. There, a compounder sensed how serious the injury was and managed to arrest the bleeding. But for further treatment, he had to rush to a private hospital in Bhavnagar, 30 kilometres away.
There, the doctors cleaned his wound, administered painkillers, and called in orthopaedic and nerve specialists. "One of the doctors told me my left hand would work only 50%, lateral movement would stop, and strength would be gone," Sakariya says. "When he found out I played cricket, he said I wouldn't be able to play again."
Sakariya's uncle, who was with him at the time, suggested reaching out to his cricket contacts.
"I began calling every cricket doctor and physio I could think of... some 10-15 calls. Physios from Rajasthan Royals (RR), KKR, NCA [BCCI's National Cricket Academy] - everywhere. I couldn't get through to anyone.
"Fortunately, the only person who answered my call was Nitin Patel [the NCA's former head of sports science]. He spoke to the doctors and asked if there was any way they could prepare me to fly out to Mumbai immediately. They stitched me up, stopped the blood loss, locked the nerve… I don't even know exactly what they did."
"Honestly, my bowling has been a little up and down. In the Ranji Trophy, one match went well, one didn't. I was bowling well in patches. At times I felt I was in rhythm, at other times I wasn't. My confidence kept fluctuating, and that showed in my SMAT [Syed Mushyaq Ali Trophy] performances as well" Chetan Sakariya
Sakariya drove to Ahmedabad and took a flight to Mumbai from where he was wheeled into emergency where hand surgeon Dr Sudhir Warrier operated on him that same night. The surgery was a success and Sakariya was discharged the next evening, with news that gave him a ray of hope. "He told me at least 70-80% of my hand will work, and that I'll definitely play in the IPL next year. Within a week, I got confidence that somehow I'll come out of this."
Recovery took five months. Sakariya began bowling again in the sixth. He had lost power, muscle and even skin around his wrist and left hand. "That's when I understood the power of glass," he says. "I just went to pick up the keys. I didn't think I was injured."
Looking back, he still struggles to explain how it happened. "It's so rare for such an injury to take place. It felt like destiny."
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Sakariya had a breakthrough in IPL 2021, a season after he had been part of Saurashtra's Ranji Trophy triumph just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. A stellar season with RR fast-tracked his journey to the national team - comprising largely of fringe players - on their tour of Sri Lanka in July that year.
But that surge unfolded amid personal grief. During the IPL season itself, as Sakariya was grappling with the loss of his elder brother, he suffered another devastating blow when his father died after contracting Covid. The India debut came barely two months after.
Gathering all his mental strength and resolve to get through what he described then as the "toughest phase anyone can cope with", Sakariya began to hope for a turnaround. And briefly, it seemed as if IPL 2022 would be that change he wished for, when Delhi Capitals (DC) signed him for INR 4.2 crore.
"The wickets were so good that the perception was they needed quick bowlers, whereas I rely more on swing and skill," Sakariya says. "That season just went by like that. I was only in contention if we played three Indian seamers and we already had Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed. And whenever I got chances, one game went well, one didn't. And when that happens, you're always under pressure because there's always the risk of being the bowler who makes way if the team wants a change."
Sakariya began the 2022 season well, and was part of India's T20 World Cup contingent in Australia as a net bowler. But when he stopped getting game time in IPL 2023, things started going south.
"I started getting doubts, wondering what extraordinary thing I needed to do to get back. I started bowling a lot," he says. "My rhythm was good, and I kept training like I'd be ready when my chances come. The work I had put in during the season, I was fairly confident of doing well."
Sakariya was to be part of the 2023-24 season-opening Duleep Trophy for West Zone, but had to pull out a week prior to the tournament when he experienced pain in his bowling (left) arm. Scans revealed a stress fracture in the left elbow.
"There was joint pain that had been there for a year. The physios were managing it, but suddenly the bowling loads fluctuated. In the IPL, T20 bowling volume is low and I wasn't playing much. Then I went through phases of bowling a lot because I was eager to do well. That load fluctuation triggered it."
Sakariya lost three months in recovering. And just as he began to return to full rhythm, he was diagnosed with a stress reaction on his back. "That cost me another four months, which meant having to miss out the most of the 2023-24 season."
He had been under the NCA's watch, though. When the physios expressed confidence he was ready, KKR took a punt on him and picked him at the auction ahead of IPL 2024, but he sat out of the entire season owing to team combinations. He was released ahead of IPL 2025, but was signed as a late replacement for the injured Umran Malik. But he got only one game. It's this pattern of being in and out, constantly being on the fringes hoping for an opportunity, that he wants to break out of.
Having taken a while to get into full rhythm during the first half of the Ranji Trophy, he has hit top gear at the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. So far, he has picked up 15 wickets in seven matches, including a four-for in Friday's semi-final that helped pull things back for Saurashtra against Punjab.
While he went unsold at the latest IPL auction, he is confident of being ready should a late call come his way.
"Honestly, my bowling has been a little up and down," he says. "In the Ranji Trophy, one match went well, one didn't. I was bowling well in patches. At times I felt I was in rhythm, at other times I wasn't. My confidence kept fluctuating, and that showed in my SMAT [Syed Mushyaq Ali Trophy] performances as well.
"But in the last three games, the ball has been coming out of my hand really well. I'm happy now. Earlier, I felt I was doing something wrong in my processes because of that up-and-down trend. I've bowled a lot more. I worked on stamina and strength in the off-season, and now I've been focusing on volumes. I haven't missed a single training session during the Vijay Hazare Trophy."
Sakariya is back to having near full functionality in his left hand. He hopes it'll all be worth it if he can once again deliver match-winning spells, like in the semi-final.
"Now, it finally feels like everything is coming together," he says. "I'm just grateful to be able to play regularly. Nothing gives me more joy than being able to stand at the top of my mark and manifest, getting a batter out in a certain way, and then going out and executing it."