Karn Sharma is one of the luckiest cricketers in recent times as he has found himself to be at the right place, at just the right time for three consecutive years now. Karn has now lifted the Indian Premier League trophy three times in as many years for three different franchises. He was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings for their 2016, 2017 and 2018 campaigns respectively.
Karn talked about how he feels about this to SportStar recently and said, “This isn't something you can think about. I don't think anyone can explain this feeling. Players fight hard to win one local tournament, so to win three consecutive titles in such a big event, to do it with a good performance and coming as it does after winning the Ranji Trophy (with Vidarbha), it's been a huge season,”
Much like how this year with CSK went for him, he didn't quite play consistently but did his job whenever he drafted into the eleven. He understands how the team dynamics can be, where each player has to abide by the flexibility and the adaptability that a team wants.
“The format of IPL is such that even the best have to sometimes sit out because of team combinations. I wasn't playing, but I also knew that IPL is the kind of platform where you are never out of contention unless you are injured. That said, playing the final is a special feeling. Winning a tournament as a member of the squad and as part of the playing XI is completely different, it gives a different high. It was a dream and I am glad that I managed to live it, hopefully, it will continue both for me and for the teams,”
Karn is very happy to have played a crucial part in this year's final, where playing ahead of the experienced campaigner Harbhajan Singh, he took the biggest wicket on the night by getting Kane Williamson stumped at a very critical stage of the match.
He is pleased for it too, “A lot of runs had been scored in the two overs before mine and I had a feeling that he would try to go for a big hit on the first ball because he always tries to put the bowler under pressure from the start. I tried to draw him out and it worked – it was a big wicket for me, for the team, and in the game,”
Karn Sharma is extremely delighted to have spent his last few months playing under and working alongside the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He talked about it and said, “He's the coolest out there. All he cares about is that you give your 100 percent on the ground. He told me that it was normal to be frustrated when you don't get a chance to play, but must grab whatever chances I get.”
“Also, our games shifting out affected the team compositions. I might have played a lot more games if we had had all our home games in Chennai because the team had also been selected keeping the conditions there in mind. Pune was a completely different pitch, conditions, everything. Nevertheless, Dhoni knows how to get the best performance from every player at the right time. If you have a bad day in the field, he will not push you too much, but if you are doing good, he will back you till the hilt. It's all about handling the players so that both the individual and the team morale stays high, and he's the best at it,”
