I am on top of the world: Patiala seamer picked for Team India
On Monday afternoon, when the Indian selectors named 22-year-old Sandeep Sharma in the Indian squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour, the Patiala youngster was overseeing the construction of his new house in Anand Nagar in Patiala.
As the news of his selection trickled in, it also meant Sandeep became the first medium-pacer from Punjab, after Manpreet Gony in 2008, to make it to the Indian cricket team. For somebody who would cycle to the Multipurpose Training Centre at Patiala to learn cricket, it seems to be the start of a new journey on the international stage.
“I am on the top of the world. There were lots of expectations from me and the selection means that I will be able to prove myself on the international level, too. Zimbabwe will be a tough outing and playing in the IPL has certainly helped me. Virender Sehwag and Mitchell Johnson have been a great support in the Kings XI Punjab side and bowling along with a player such as Johnson does bring more responsibility,” said the 22-year-old Sharma, who picked up 13 wickets during this year’s IPL.
It all started for the youngster when, as a 13-year-old, he would visit the Multipurpose Training School with his elder brother Shatrughan Sharma. His father Balwinder Giri is a small agriculturist in a nearby village. Sharma would often cycle to train at the stadium and soon broke into the Punjab junior and Indian junior side.
After playing in the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2010, the youngster proved his worth in the U-19 World Cup held in Australia in 2012 where he picked up 12 wickets, which also included a four-wicket haul in the final. Sharma would soon break into the Punjab senior team and would go on to take 11 wickets in 27 first class matches. Coach Munish Bali recalled Sharma’s early days. “He was 13 when started training under coach Kamaljeet Singh. He would cycle to the centre and would train for hours. Later, when he made it to the district team, he trained under me. Initially, we suggested to him to be a batsman seeing that he was short. But seeing him bowl made us realise that he had the talent to become a bowler. He would swing the ball both ways and made his U-16 district, state as well India debut (Under-19) in the same year in 2007. Over the years, he has learnt the art of swing bowling well,” Bali, who is now coach of the Indian U-23 team, said.
At the Sharma household, it was time for celebration. The IPL contract with KXIP and playing for Punjab has helped Sharma build a new house in the same locality. “Whatever he has achieved is due to cricket. He realises this and even now, whenever he is in Patiala, he
trains daily. Our mother was suffering from an infection for the past six months and was ill. He would play in the Ranji Trophy and would also rush home whenever he got a chance,” said Shatrughan Sharma, Sandeep’s elder brother.
