Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma rose through the ranks from age-group cricket. He has the ability to bowl both outswingers and inswingers at will which makes him a potent weapon against any opposition. The right-arm medium-fast bowler has persisted with his swing bowling and immaculate line and length which has made him an integral part of the Rajasthan Royals squad in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

He first rose into prominence when he was picked in the 2010 ICC U 19 World Cup. However, it took some time for Sandeep to make himself a potent weapon at the professional level. After a pretty mediocre 2010 World Cup, Sandeep came into his own in the same tournament a couple of years later. He proved to be the go-to bowler for Unmukt Chand and the swing prodigy didn’t disappoint. He bagged a sensational 4-wicket haul in the final against the Aussies which helped India win their third U 19 World Cup title. His ability to swing the Kookaburra ball prodigiously made him a match-winner in the tournament and he soon started taking giant strides in his career. 

Sharma continued the good work and replicated his junior-level performance at the domestic level when he finished as the leading wicket-taker for Punjab in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy season bagging 42 wickets. He also finished as the fifth highest wicket-taker overall. He continued his good run of form in the following Vijay Hazare Trophy where he bagged 10 wickets in 6 matches at an impressive average of 20. 

Banking on his domestic and junior level success, Sandeep was acquired by the Kings XI Punjab in the 2013 IPL and it didn’t take him long to establish himself in the franchise. He was quite sensational with the ball in 2014 when he bagged 18 wickets in 11 matches. He also donned the purple cap on several occasions before eventually losing out to Mohit Sharma of the Chennai Super Kings. Despite bagging 17 wickets for Punjab in 2017, he was let go by the franchise and he got a new bidder in Hyderabad. 

Following his impressive performances in the domestic circuit and the IPL, Sandeep Sharma was drafted into the Indian T20I squad for the series in Zimbabwe back in 2015. He failed to bag a wicket in his maiden T20I. Despite following it up with a wicket in his second game, Sharma was axed from the squad and has never made a return to the national team since then.

The pacer has been a revelation for the orange army (SRH), rattling 38 wickets in 3 seasons. In the last edition of the cash-rich league, he picked 14 wickets in 13 matches leading the bowling charge to the knockout stages. With his experience in the squad, Sunrisers will be hoping that Sharma keeps moulding up the youngsters.

Given the huge set of fast bowlers in India in the present situation, it will be unlikely that Sharma will make a comeback in India colours in the near future. 

(As of March 2021)