Name: Sandeep Sharma
Sandeep Sharma is a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler, Sandeep began as a batsman for his school in Patiala before his coach persuaded him to take up bowling seriously. He plays domestic cricket for Chandigarh. Sharma is a right-arm medium pace bowler. He has represented India at two Under-19 World Cups – 2010 and 2012. Sharma was a key member of the Indian under-19 team that emerged as winners of the 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In 2013, following his bowling performances at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, Sharma was signed up by Kings XI Punjab.
Sandeep Sharma began his career as a batsman for his school in Patiala before being convinced by his coach to switch to seam bowling. During the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup final against Australia, Sharma played a huge role in India's victory. Sharma conceded 58 runs, and his bowling spell restricted Australia to 225/8 before India chased down the total comfortably by six wickets. He dismissed future Australian Internationals Cameron Bancroft and Ashton Turner. Sharma was also the joint-highest wicket-taker for India with 12 scalps at the 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
By the age of 21, Sandeep Sharma had gained a reputation as a swing bowler.
Sharma took three wickets for 21 runs in his IPL debut match when he played for Kings XI Punjab against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 11, 2013. He enjoyed a stellar run during the 2014 Indian Premier League season with Kings XI Punjab, taking 18 wickets in 11 matches. Sharma was also the leading wicket-taker for Kings XI Punjab during that season. His exploits with the ball propelled Kings XI Punjab to their first-ever IPL final, which they eventually lost to Kolkata Knight Riders.
In the 2017 edition of the IPL, Sharma claimed 3/22 from his four overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the process, he became the first bowler to get the trio of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers out in the same game. Sharma spent his first six IPL seasons with Kings XI Punjab, gaining a fair share of success by grabbing 73 wickets. This included 40 wickets in the powerplay overs while taking 20 wickets in the death overs. He picked up 39 wickets in his first three IPL seasons, eventually earning an Indian call-up.
In January 2018, Sharma was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL auction. In February 2022, he was bought by the Punjab Kings in the auction for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament. In March 2023, he was brought in by Rajasthan Royals for the 2023 Indian Premier League as an injury replacement for Prasidh Krishna after initially being unsold in the 2023 IPL Auction. Sharma made his comeback in the 2023 IPL season, tasked as the main reliable frontline bowler for Rajasthan Royals to deliver in the powerplay and in the death. He holds the record of being the second-best bowler in powerplay overs in the history of IPL with a tally of 55 wickets, only second behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Sharma featured in the 1000th IPL match, and in the match against Mumbai Indians, he dismissed Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma for the fifth time in his IPL career.
After his impressive domestic season with Punjab and Kings XI Punjab, Sharma was picked in the 15-man squad for the limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe in July 2015. He made his Twenty20 International debut against Zimbabwe on July 17, 2015. However, Sharma was not able to live up to the expectations in both the T20Is against Zimbabwe, where he leaked many runs. He also endured several back injuries and shoulder problems which eventually cut short his international career. Sharma suffered a stress fracture followed by a shoulder injury which kept him out of the sport for roughly 18 months.
