Gujarat Titans’ IPL campaign began with a narrow defeat in Mohali, yet Shubman Gill found time to single out debutant seamer Ashok Sharma. The 22-year-old right-armer delivered 1 for 31 from three overs in the loss to Punjab Kings and, importantly, held his nerve at the death.
“He bowled pretty well up front and I think in the back. He’s definitely someone that I think as he keeps playing more matches and keeps getting more experience he’ll be very valuable for us,” Gill noted afterwards.
Clocked consistently between 140 and 145kph, Ashok mixed sharp bouncers with several back-of-the-hand slower balls. His first spell disappeared for boundaries, which can happen on IPL debut, but he regrouped to send down an 18th over that cost only five runs. That over also brought his first wicket, Marco Jansen splicing one of those slower deliveries to cover where Gill himself took the catch.
Gill has tracked the youngster since a pre-season camp. “He’s someone who works very hard you know on his game and he’s a pretty good fielder for us,” he said. “And I actually met him during the camp a couple of months ago and I was very impressed by the way he was bowling with the new ball as well. Hopefully he’ll get a chance in some of the matches to show some of his skills with the new ball.”
Assistant coach Parthiv Patel echoed the captain’s enthusiasm. “He is exciting, there is no doubt about it,” Patel told reporters. “The way we have seen him, the way he bowled in [Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy], he has that pace and he has that character also.
“Even after the first two overs he went for runs, but he came in and bowled a crucial 18th over. So he has that character, he is a proper athlete, so we are quite excited about Ashok Sharma.”
Punjab still chased the 178 required, with Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett finishing the job, yet Ashok’s brief cameo offered Titans a genuine silver lining. Early days, of course, but the camp already believes they have unearthed a fast-bowling option who can handle powerplay swing and closing-over pressure alike.
