I kept telling myself that I would do it - Ashutosh Sharma

Ashutosh Sharma will perhaps never forget April 4, 2024. Not least because it was his IPL debut but also because of the kind of innings he played along the way. When Punjab Kings found themselves in a soup, Ashutosh Sharma, who plays for Railways in domestic cricket, came in as an impact player to smash a 17-ball 31 that led the way for Punjab’s second win of the season.

But it was not the first time that Sharma had pulled off something like that. Already having a reputation for being a swashbuckling batter in domestic cricket, Sharma once batted at a strike rate of 441.66 against Arunachal Pradesh to break Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball half-century in what was his only second T20 for Railways and his 10th T20 match in his career.

“It was my first match of the season, but I had won a match for Railways and this was a similar situation. I thought that I'd bat with that same mindset. I had the confidence to pull it off because I had won games for the team in the Mushtaq Ali tournament. I kept telling myself that I will do it,” Sharma said in the post-match press conference in Ahmedabad.

Ashutosh Sharma was joined by Shashank Singh and the duo caused devastation to ensure Shubman Gill’s 89 runs held no value in the larger context. For a side that is visibly knackered in the batting department, the duo had been able to survive and then take the attack on the opposition talked about their grit.

"I had the confidence because coaches and management were backing me a lot. They had the belief that I could finish games. I carried that confidence and applied it in the middle. I felt very good that I could justify their belief. Shashank played an impactful knock even as wickets were falling at one end. Both of us had the belief that we would win the game for the team. We were calm and didn't panic,” Ashutosh added.

The 25-year-old, who hails from the town of Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, moved to Indore at the age of 10 to hone his cricketing skills. Despite limited resources, Ashutosh learned to manage everything on his own and worked as a ball boy and an umpire to make ends meet. But after breaking Yuvraj Singh's record, Ashutosh, in an inter-railway game, also hammered 200 in just 60 balls and further increased the attention from Punjab Kings' scouts.

Ashutosh also credited skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Head of Cricket Development Sanjay Bangar for instilling self-belief in him. "Shikhar paaji has taught me a lot about mental aspects of things. I had faith that I would be able to do it. I also want to credit Sanjay Bangar Sir, who also backed me and has been a source of inspiration since the first training session," the batter signed off.