Punjab Kings batter Ashutosh Sharma, who caught everyone’s attention with a match-winning cameo of 17-ball 31 in a high-scoring chase against Gujarat Titans on Thursday (April 4), has opened up on the toughest phase of his cricketing journey so far.
Sharma, 25, claimed that there was a time when he wasn’t even allowed to get a feel of the cricket ground.
He was not in the good books of one of India's most celebrated domestic coaches Chandrakant Pandit, who performed the role of Madhya Pradesh head coach from 2020 to 2022.
"I would go to the gym and retire to my hotel room. I was sinking into depression and no one told me what my fault was. A new coach had joined Madhya Pradesh and he had strong likes and dislikes and despite scoring 90 odd in 45 balls in a trial match, I was dropped from the team," Ashutosh said, as quoted by PTI.
While Ashutosh Sharma refrained from taking anyone’s name, it is clear that he was referring to Pandit, who is associated with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders for the last couple of years.
Recently, MP pacer Gourav Yadav and Namibia's David Wiese (former KKR all-rounder) had raised voice against Pandit’s "my way or high way" style of coaching.
"I had three fifties in six Mushtaq Ali games in the previous season yet I wouldn't even be allowed to go to the ground. I was very depressed," Ashutosh added.
Amid the tough period, a job offer from Railways came to his rescue. Last year, he was in the news for breaking Yuvraj Singh's record for fastest half-century by an India. It earned him an auction bid for Punjab Kings as team's batting coach and former Railway legend Sanjay Bangar spotted him.
Recalling that phase, Ashutosh Sharma expressed gratitude towards his childhood coach Amay Khurasiya, the former India left-hander, who has seen him at the MPCA Academy since age of 12.
"Amay sir knows me since childhood. I got a lot of tips on mental health from him. I speak to him before every game and even before this game I spoke with him. Also inputs from Shikhar Paaji (Dhawan), Sanjay sir on playing proper shots instead of trying to slog helped."
Khurasiya was elated for his ward, who he first saw at the Indore Academy as a 12-year-old. When asked how Ashutosh’s career went downhill after Pandit's outright rejection, Khurasiya shared his philosophy of coaching.
"You have to empower the kid. Every kid will come from a different socio-economic background. They will have different behavioural pattern. As a coach it my duty to find a connect with the boy rather expect him to connect with me instantly. If his attitude is a problem, it is my duty to bring him around and lead him towards that," Khurasiya told PTI.
"You need to do extensive work on psychological aspect of the child. How you want to align the boy's cricketing philosophy with yours is not the boy's problem. It is easy to disregard, disrespect and alienate the boy from system. But if you have the power help, try to help," he added.
"If he (the coach) is thinking that a boy isn't going to make mistakes, he is wrong. Boys will make mistakes. The coaches have a tendency to lean towards brilliance. For coaches, it is important to work on EQ (emotional quotient) rather than BQ (brilliancy quotient)," he explained.
During his pre-teen days, Ashutosh had his fair share of struggles as he had to shift from Ratlam to Indore to hone cricket skills.
"That time was very difficult as I had to stay away from home in Indore. I had my share of struggles, at times. I didn't have money to buy food, so I would be umpiring to ensure one meal is ensured, staying in a very small accommodation, I had to wash my clothes, but MPCA academy helped me. Amay sir helped me a lot," Ashutosh recalled.
(With PTI Inputs)
