Suyash Sharma, a 19-year-old mystery spinner without a professional appearance to his name in any format, was sensationally named in the KKR line-up for their clash today against RCB at Eden Gardens.
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It was later confirmed that Sharma had not actually been included in the KKR XI, but would rather be used as their Impact Player in the second innings of the game after RCB captain Faf du Plessis opted to bat first at the toss.
Sharma is a very much a rookie, not just in the IPL but in professional cricket in general. Sharma has never even played a domestic T20 game, nor has he made a first-class appearance.
There is not much footage of Sharma online, but KKR have posted a video of Sharma bowling in a game that did not carry professional T20 or List A status on their YouTube channel.
KKR lost their opening game of the 2023 IPL, falling short by seven runs on DLS against Punjab Kings. Despite using an Impact Player later in the game, KKR only used five bowling options as all of Tim Southee, Shardul Thakur and Sunil Narine went at 10 or more runs per over. Using Sharma as an Impact Player – rather than Venkatesh Iyer, a batting all-rounder who does not always bowl – should in theory lend KKR more flexibility in the field. KKR failed to qualify for the play-offs in the 2022 IPL and their start to the 2023 campaign has been hampered by availability issues with both captain Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan ruled out of the tournament. England opener Jason Roy is a recent addition to the squad.
The IPL has a rich history of previously unheralded youngsters becoming overnight international sensations – could Suyash Sharma be the latest to do that?
Watch: Suyash Sharma leaves batters ‘clueless’:
