After going unsold in the IPL 2023 auction, he has made quite a turnaround.
Rajasthan Royals star pacer Sandeep Sharma has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
However, his transformation from a new ball bowler in the powerplay overs to bowling at the death has been quite a transformation.
For perspective, Sandeep has bowled 269 overs in IPL powerplays, the second-highest number of overs in this phase, with an average of over 2.2 overs per inning up to 2023. However, in IPL 2024, he bowled only 15 overs in powerplays over 10 games.
This change became evident two years ago after he unexpectedly went unsold in the 2023 auction.
The 31-year-old however, got lucky as Prasidh Krishna got injured and RR called up Sandeep to fill the void.
Prasidh would usually bowl in the middle and death overs and RR already had quite a few options for powerplay bowlers in Trent Boult, Jason Holder, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The concern especially was that the Sanju Samson-led side didn’t have anyone to replicate Prasidh’s role and impact at the death in partnering with Boult and that automatically became Sandeep’s new responsibility.
The RR speedster gave credit where it’s due and heaped praises on the skipper for trusting him with the old ball and that Sanju would be in constant touch with him before he got into RR, slowly building his confidence.
When the season started and Sandeep played his first match in RR’s third game, their conversations carried over numerous dinners and practice sessions.
“In the last two years, Sanju Samson gave me the crucial overs whenever the game was at stake. So, I could see how much he trusted me in those crucial situations. It was a confidence booster for me as well. – Sandeep Sharma (via Sportskeeda).
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Sandeep further emphasized that his rise as a death bowler may appear recent and unexpected, but it was far from an overnight achievement.
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