The 19-year-old is a wicketkeeper-batter from Rajasthan.
‘Yatra Avsara Prathibha Prapnoti’ – words that are carved on the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy, which mean ‘where talent meets opportunity.’ A wicketkeeper-batter from Rajasthan, Kartik Sharma might go on to become the latest example of the phrase at the IPL 2026 auction in December this year. At just 19 years, the youngster has set the stage on fire with prolific performances.
Be it the First-class stats, List A or T20 – you name the format, and the youngster impresses! In just eight First-class matches in his brief career so far, Kartik Sharma has already scored three centuries with an average of 43.54. To add to that, he has scored 201 runs in seven T20s with two half-centuries under his belt at a strike-rate of 164.75.
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also called the youngster out in one of his YouTube videos. He mentioned that the youngster is baggage-free, which would be one of his most important strengths. Ashwin also spoke about the fact that it would not be easy for a youngster to come and make an impact in the middle-order directly.
That being said, Kartik Sharma’s game has caught the eyes of former England batter Kevin Pietersen. A video of the batter is doing the rounds on social media, in which he has tonked a pacer for a six straight down the ground. Pietersen has retweeted the video on his social media platform, commenting “who is this” on the post.
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Being such a dashing and prolific talent, it would be a complete surprise if Kartik Sharma was not approached by an IPL franchise. Though it is not yet a sealed deal, the possibility of it turning into one cannot be denied. The 19-year-old was seen at the closed door nets for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are expected to bid for him in the IPL 2026 auction.
The Men in Yellow have already eased their nerves before entering into the auction by solving one of the major issues that could have popped up. The trade which got them Sanju Samson actually solves a lot of their issues. But great franchises are always the ones who nurture talent by identifying them at an early stage, and Kartik Sharma seems exactly an opportunity like that.
Many franchises would have their eyes on this talent from Rajasthan. But CSK and the IPL 2025 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are reported to have watched him from the closest quarters. That being said, the youngster will surely be one of the hottest picks in the IPL 2026 auction this year.
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