Suyash Sharma
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YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS
As in 2023 March
Pratyush Raj, April 8, 2023: The Indian Express
In May 2021, during the second wave of Covid-19, Suyash Sharma lost his coach Suresh Batra. The family also ran out of patience as the teenager had been consistently ignored by the DDCA. Kartar Nath, the former first-class cricketer, came to the rescue of Suyash.
“To be frank, his career was going nowhere. With Batra ji’s death, the family also lost all hope. One day at the academy, he came to me and said ‘sir mummy baat karna chahti hai aapse’ (My mother wants to talk to you). She wanted him to stop playing cricket. I requested her to give this kid at least two more years and then if nothing happens I myself send him home,” Nath told The Indian Express.
“The reason I was fighting for Suyash is because of my friend Suresh Batra. He spotted Suyash in 2016 and immediately called me. His words were ‘kya googly hai is bacche ka’ (He has a great googly). We called him for the trials, and there certainly was an X-factor. Last time I saw this glint in his eyes was years ago, when we watched a young Virat Kohli batting for the first time,” he added.
Just like Virat, Suyash too had to go through the same obstacle, a terrible practice in Delhi Cricket, where he was consistently ignored. “The last time I saw Batra fighting for a cricketer was Virat, when he was not picked for the U-14 team. In 2019, he was furious when Suyash was not even picked for the U-19 trial.
“We begged the selectors that at least give this kid a fair trial. If he is not good enough, then it’s fine. When he finally got the chance, we came to know that he didn’t have a birth certificate. We lost our cool, the parents said ‘we never thought he would get the chance to represent Delhi, and hence they never bothered about it,” he said.
On Thursday, KKR handed the debut to a 19-year-old unknown Suyash Sharma, who till date, has not played a single list A game. No one in Delhi circuit has ever heard of him, even the KKR skipper, Nitish Rana in the post-match presentation, said that he was surprised to see Suyash in the camp and he was even more surprised when he got to know that the boy is from Delhi. “I have never met him. Never heard his name also,” he said.
Suyash took 3 for 30 and played a pivotal role in KKR’s 81-run victory over RCB.
In an U-25 One Day tournament, Suyash played four matches for Delhi and took two wickets but he left a mark on the IPL scouts.
Before he was called up by the KKR for the trials, Abhishek Nayar, the franchise assistant coach called up Pankaj Singh, former India seamer, who is at present the coach of Delhi U-25. “I gave my input to Abhishek. I told him that we picked him for the Delhi U-25 team after watching him in the nets. He didn’t have a great season, but he is promising,” Pankaj Singh told this newspaper.
“He can bowl both leg break and the googlies with the same action and since the action is unorthodox, he manages to fox the batsmen. He is that surprise element, and if nurtured properly, he can be very effective in T20 cricket. In one day cricket, he needs to work on his length, he needs to work hard there, but in T20, where batsmen look to attack, his action will help him get many wickets,” said Singh.
Just when things started to change for Suyash, he finally found a club (Madras Club), and started taking heaps of wickets in the DDCA league; he received the dreaded news about his father’s health.
“He got heaps of wickets in the DDCA challengers trophy. He was called for the U-25 trial. Then suddenly he came to know about his father, who was detected with liver cancer,” said Madras Club coach Randhir Singh.
“Rahul Sanghvi came into his life like an angel. Rahul bhai helped his father to get treated in Mumbai and also helped him to get a trial with Mumbai Indians as well,” said Singh. The Madras Club, one of the well-known clubs in Delhi, has produced the likes of Virender Sehwag and Yuzvendra Chahal.
It was not only Suyash’s bowling that has caught attention but his uncanny similarity to Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, his long hair and Rambo-esque bandana has also grabbed attention.
“I have received numerous calls from people to check whether he is related to Neeraj,” said Nath.
Nath also revealed the reason behind the long locks of Suyash. “In 2019, when he was not picked, he shaved his head and has not cut his hair for the past four years. ‘Sir ab kuch kar ke hi kaatunga ye baal‘ (I would cut this hair once I achieve something in life).
“I told him in the morning. Rehne de ab acha lagta tere upar (Long hair suits you, don’t cut it),” said Nath.
