Sandeep sharma ”“ finally getting the recognition he deserves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaurav Joshi reporting live from IPL 2014

Watching Sandeep Sharma go through his warm up in front of a packed Wankehde Stadium it feels as if Patiala boy  is still playing at a local college ground.   The shirt is hanging lose, no thoughts of tucking it in, he uses his cap as the bowling marker, he is not overawed or seems daunted by watching the lethal Mitchell Johnson run past him and pound the ball into the gloves of the wicket keeper on the far end.

The thought of trying to increase his pace doesn’t cross his mind at a young career because he knows his primary job is swing the ball and not complicate things. So no wonder his hero is Virender Sehwag.

“When I was growing up my brother worshipped Tendulkar so I looked up to Sehwag instead and since then he has always been my hero”

At the last IPL when Sharma had an opportunity to bowl to Sehwag in the match he was so excited he could not go to bed. “All I could think about was that I bowled a ball to Viru paji, I called up my mum and kept repeating it”

So when Sharma found out Sehwag would be his team mate at Kings X1 this year he was over the moon. But rather than impressed by his hero’s batting ability Sharma was dumbstruck by the personality of the man known as Viru.

“He is unique. Even if he makes nought or scores 60 odd, he is still the same person. Also the fact that he is straight up is what I enjoy. He will speak the truth, so if you have bowled badly he will tell you and make a joke about it. Not many people are like that and coming from Punjab we admire people who are truthful like that”

Apart from the discussion off the field, Sehwag has played a key role on the field as well. “Before the match in Sharjah he advised all the youngsters how to bowl, not in formal manner rather it comes across pretty casual and that is the best part about it”

Sharma has learnt from all the senior players this year and playing under the captaincy of George Bailey has been an experience he has enjoyed. “The best thing about him is he is always smiling and just tells me to execute my own plans, including my own field. He allows one to be a self-learner. ”

After missing out on selection in the first two IPL matches Sharma has been the man of the match in the two of the last three matches. Sharma’s ability to swing the new ball has troubled amongst the best of the players.

But it is just not with the white ball that the man known as “Sandy” hais been successful. In the past two Ranji seasons 41 and 36 wickets respectively speaks volumes of his talent.

In the last few years Praveen Kumar and Bhuvenshwar Kumar have been able to break into the Indian eleven through their sheer ability to swing the ball. At the raw age of 20 years, Sandeep Sharma is destined to follow in their tracks. The IPL is just the recognition of a yet another swing bowling talent that has toiled away and done the hard yards in the domestic season.  Representing his country could well be on the cards sooner than later.

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