"Although it is a slower ball, it also swings a bit" - Chetan Sakariya reveals secret weapon he's working on since IPL 2022

Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Chetan Sakariya is one of those bowlers who always believe in having a few tricks up their sleeve. In his debut season, Sakariya showcased his variety of slower balls that were effective enough to disturb the batter's timing.

This time around, the 24-year-old revealed that he has been working on a new delivery. Chetan Sakariya spent some valuable time in the DC camp with some experienced pros like bowling coach James Hopes, who helped him master this delivery.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Sakariya spoke about the technicalities of how to execute that delivery. He is focused not only on beating batters with pace but also with swing. Here's what he had to say:

"I am working on a new slower delivery. I want to use it when the powerplay is on and the ball is new. It is similar to a knuckleball, but this is bowled with a strong finger, which in my case in the middle one. James Hopes has worked with me on this and he said that I have bowled that ball very well in the nets."

In this regard, he added:

"The specialty about that is that although it is a slower ball, it also swings a bit when it releases well. So I have added that in my bowling and will hopefully execute it well."

Chetan Sakariya on why DC couldn't make it to the IPL 2022 playoffs

Despite having one of the stronger squads on paper, DC missed the opportunity to make it to the IPL 2022 playoffs. While many believe they have underachieved this season, Sakariya stressed that perhaps the injury woes as well as players testing positive for COVID-19 had a huge impact on their season.

On this, he stated:

"Some players were injured while some others were COVID positive, so we had to make some forced changes. So that was probably why we lost 2-3 games from winning positions. So that was a luck factor that wasn't in our hands."

Despite playing just three games, Chetan Sakariya picked up three wickets and maintained an economy rate of just 7.64. DC do have a potential star on their hands and might need to play him more regularly next season to perform better.