'Main bada depression me aa gaya tha': PBKS sensation reveals dark phase of his life after fallout with IPL coach

He made his debut in IPL 2024 and has already become a star with his exemplary performances in a limited time.

By Chandra Moulee Das Apr 19, 2024, 19:00 IST

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Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting sensation Ashutosh Sharma almost pulled off a heist last night during their match against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). Ashutosh, who has previously proved his mettle as a finisher by winning games for PBKS scored a game-changing 28-ball 61 but could not stay till the end to see his team through as MI won the contest by 9 runs.

Ashutosh made his debut this season and has already become a star with his exemplary performances in limited time. However, the youngster had to overcome an extremely dark phase in his life to reach where he is today.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Sharma revealed,

"In 2019 I scored 84 runs in my last game for MP [against Puducherry]. Then next year, there was a professional coach who came in and he had his likes and dislikes. He did not like me and sat me out of the team," Ashutosh said without naming the coach. "Main bada depression me aa gaya tha [I went into depression]. That was the Covid time, so only 20 people used to travel, and I used to stay back at the hotel."

Ashutosh Sharma opens up on fallout with IPL coach

From 2020 to 2022, Ashutosh faced uncertainty about his career trajectory after being overlooked by current Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and then-Madhya Pradesh coach Chandrakant Pandit.

Pandit had recently assumed the role of head coach for the state team and Ashutosh openly shared his battle with depression following the fallout with the coach without taking his name.

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Ashutosh added, "I stayed at the hotel for one to two months. I was not even able to see the ground. All I did was go to the gym and come back to the room. I got really frustrated and slipped into depression. It was tough to come out of that. I kept thinking, where did I go wrong? I could not sleep for days. No one even said anything. I was driven out of the set-up without explanation. Those two to three years were pretty bad."

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