It was the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when a lesser-known face, Ashutosh Sharma, made waves by shattering the great Yuvraj Singh’s record for the fastest fifty by an Indian in T20 cricket. His aggressive approach and remarkable finishing skills prompted the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to have him on board for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. As he continues to do his job quietly for his franchise in crunch games, he also seems to be making the job of the Indian selectors more difficult right ahead of the T20 World Cup squad announcement.
Exactly a couple of weeks ago, Sharma made his IPL debut against Gujarat Titans, substituting Arshdeep Singh and rightfully justifying the ‘Impact Sub’ tag. He scored a quick-fire 17-ball 31 to guide Punjab to a thrilling 3-wicket win, along with Shashank Singh, in the chase of 200.
He has turned out to be a great find for Punjab. With a 15-ball 33 not out against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and a 16-ball 31 against the Rajasthan Royals, the Ratlam boy reaffirmed PBKS’ faith, showing that he can thrive under pressure.
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The right-hand batter levelled up his game against Mumbai Indians on Thursday night at Mullanpur when his team was tasked to chase 194. The hosts were down and out at 77/6 but his 28-ball 61 gave a fresh life to Punjab’s chase. But Gerald Coetzee dismissed him in the 18th over, and with it, PBKS’ chances in the game.
T20 World Cup squad selection
The selectors are already had a few finishers in mind for the bilineal ICC event, scheduled to get underway in a few weeks in the West, and Sharma has certainly given the selectors some food for thought with his heroics in the IPL. The likes of Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh were the possible contenders in the starting week of the league. But as the tournament has progressed, veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik and now, Sharma seem to have joined the race.
Sharma – a proven power-hitter
It took him quite a while to get some stability in the domestic cricket. And once he found it, his performance showcased his hard work behind the scenes. For instance, the fastest fifty in last year’s SMAT when he reached the milestone in just 11 balls, against Arunachal.
“I didn’t know that I broke some record. So, when I was fielding, at third-man position, the scorer told me and I was surprised. And when I returned to the team hotel, I saw my phone buzzing with loads of messages and that’s when I realised the significance,” Ashutosh Sharma had told CricketNext in an exclusive interview before IPL 2024.
Praise from Hardik Pandya
Sharma’s exploits with the bat drew enormous praise from Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya.
“Unbelievable, playing the way he (Ashutosh) did and hitting the ball off the middle. (It is) great for his future. We did speak in the timeout about it, not about how we look, we will keep fighting and make sure (that) we don’t bowl the soft balls. Batsmen played good shots but we were soft in certain overs,” Pandya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
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