He took nine wickets in the IPL 2025.
Former Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer Sandeep Sharma, who currently plays for Rajasthan Royals (RR), recalled memories from the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL). Sandeep revealed a heartwarming gesture from PBKS co-owner Preity Zinta when she had requested the jury to award him the Player of the Match.
The right-arm pacer made his IPL debut with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2013 and continued to play for five years. He took 17 wickets in the IPL 2017 at an impressive economy rate of 8.29. However, the Punjab pacer was released by the franchise ahead of the 2018 season and joined Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Meanwhile, he rejoined Punjab in IPL 2022 for a year.
Sandeep recalled the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2017 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where he picked up the wickets of the hosts’ mainstays, including captain Virat Kohli (6), Chris Gayle (0) and AB de Villiers (10), setting up the game for his side upfront. However, Axar Patel was adjudged as Player of the Match for his all-round brilliance in a low-scoring thriller. Patel had amassed 38 runs off just 17 balls, striking at 223.52, helping his side post 138/7. He then ran through RCB’s middle order, taking three wickets and conceding just 11 runs off his three overs at a staggering economy rate of 3.66, leading to a 19-run victory.
Although Zinta had a lengthy conversation with Ravi Shastri, the post-match presentation host, it ultimately led to a late change, resulting in the award being handed to the pacer.
“We were playing a match in Bengaluru against RCB. And I had taken three wickets with the new ball. Virat, ABD and Chris Gayle. So in that match, actually, the Player of the Match was supposed to be Axar Patel, who had also taken two wickets in that match, and it was a low-scoring game. In the last over, he had scored 25 runs [19 runs] and scored 38 runs [in total]. But the Player of the Match was his, if you look at it. So Preity ma’am was there, and she told Ravi Shastri there that the Player of the Match should be Sandy; he has picked three big wickets,” he said on CricTracker.
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Sandeep further disclosed that he handed the award to Axar, who refused to mention that those wickets were crucial in defending the 138-run total, cementing the pacer’s impact in the match.
“And actually, they gave me the Player of the Match. That was one sweet thing. And I actually went and offered it to Axar. But he told me that these three wickets were very important. Otherwise, 138 runs wouldn’t have been defended anywhere,” he added.
The 32-year-old was retained by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. However, the pacer failed to live up to the expectations, managing nine wickets in just 10 matches before he was ruled out of the tournament midway.
Sandeep is currently the 14th leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with 146 wickets in 137 matches, including a five-wicket haul. He currently has the sixth most wickets in the cash-rich league after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (198), Jasprit Bumrah (183), Dwayne Bravo (183), Lasith Malinga (170), and Harshal Patel (151).
