Self-made
Consistency was a problem area that Sharma faced during his last Ranji season, but his U-turn in international cricket has confirmed that the young man’s mature mind can work on his game while on the job. Mumbai maidan folklore has it that Sharma is a self-made batsman who was rarely seen chasing stalwarts for opinions. Former Mumbai batsman Shishir Hattangadi, as the manager of Sharma’s IPL team Deccan Chargers, explains how Sharma has held his own in a star-studded team in just 15 days. “There’s no confusion in his mind. If you see his Mumbai record, the one thing that could be pointed out was a lack of consistency. In the IPL he’s proven that he can be consistent. Having so many big batsmen around hasn’t flustered him. At the same time, he’s a very good listener when he’s being talked to,” he says.
Hattangadi speaks of the street-smart cricketer who he met as a junior some time back, and how the IPL experience has made him smarter. “He is very cool and composed before going out to bat. He is also fearless regardless of the opposition, and is not scared if he is about to face any big names,” he says. And he signs off by saying just three words: “Future Mumbai captain”.
Hattangadi can be pardoned of that quick future-telling because of his past and present alliance with Sharma, but there is still no denying that Deccan Chargers’s Mumbai import has used the IPL to take a few big steps towards stardom. He has used the T20 ‘license to hit’ prudently and moved ahead in the bumper-to-bonnet queue of lining up on Indian cricket’s highway. There have been whispers that Sharma’s easy-on-eyes style has seen him get extra focus, exaggerated assessment and all that has translated into a shorter struggle. The Kaifs, Rainas and Uthappas have been proven match winners but suddenly find themselves trailing in the race to be the ‘next big thing’ in Indian cricket. All because of a fantasy fortnight where Sharma has shown he isn’t all style but substance too.