Delhi Capitals’ Hidden Gem: Ashutosh Sharma’s Inspiring Path to IPL Glory

Two years ago, a young player created a sensation by hitting the fastest fifty in domestic cricket . Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023. Railways vs Arunachal Pradesh match. A boy playing for Railways created a stir. He hit a fifty in just 11 balls. The fastest half century by any Indian batsman. The boy's name is Ashutosh Sharma. The same one who snatched victory from the jaws of Lucknow Super Giants on Monday while playing for Delhi Capitals . This is not Sharma's first fiery innings in IPL. Last season too, he made a splash with the bat but then his team was not Delhi Capitals, but Punjab Kings . The story of Delhi getting this diamond is no less interesting.

Delhi Capital's Hidden Gem

His tremendous performance in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2023 caught the attention of Punjab Kings batting coach Sanjay Bangar. As a result, Punjab Kings bought Ashutosh Sharma at a base price of 20 lakhs in the IPL auction. This is how Sharma's IPL journey started. Last season, whenever he got a chance to bat, he did not hesitate to capitalize on it. He left a different mark with the bat. 31 runs in 17 balls, 33 not out in 15 balls, 31 runs in 16 balls...these figures are testimony to his destructive form. In a match against Mumbai Indians , Sharma played a tremendous innings of 61 runs in just 28 balls. During this, he hit 2 fours and 7 sixes but it was too little. Could not make the team win.

Ashutosh Sharma's IPL Breakthrough

After this came the 2025 IPL auction. Punjab Kings released Ashutosh Sharma who was bought for a pittance. RCB started the bidding for him. Rajasthan Royals also wanted to get Sharma, so they also jumped into the bidding. There was a competition among the teams to get him. Delhi Capitals also jumped into the race and Punjab Kings who had released him also joined the bidding. Finally Delhi Capitals bought Ashutosh Sharma by bidding 3.8 crores. Now Sharma has emerged as the new sensation of IPL 2025 by giving the team a thrilling victory with his courageous innings. He scored an unbeaten 66 runs in 31 balls.

Uncharted Journey

Ashutosh Sharma made the seemingly impossible win against Lucknow possible on Monday. Lucknow had set a huge target of 210 runs for victory. In reply, Delhi lost 3 wickets for just 7 runs. By the 13th over, 6 wickets had fallen. After that, Sharma and Vipraaj Nigam shared a 55-run partnership but Nigam was out on the first ball of the 17th over. Then Delhi's score was 168 runs for 7 wickets. Starc was also out in the next over. Delhi needed 22 runs to win in the last 2 overs but the ninth wicket also fell in the form of Kuldeep Yadav in the 19th over. The team's score was 192 runs. Ashutosh Sharma was single-handedly holding the fort from one end. As soon as Yadav was out, now the last pair was on the field. 18 runs were needed in 9 balls to win. Lucknow's victory seemed certain but Ashutosh did wonders.