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'I Was In Depression': PBKS Batter Reveals His Tough Time; Takes Dig At KKR Coach

Ashutosh Sharma playing an explosive knock against GT (AP)Ashutosh Sharma playing an explosive knock against GT (AP)

Recently, Ashutosh Sharma received limelight after his fantastic knock of 31 runs in 17 balls that helped the Punjab Kings (PBKS) secure their second win of the season against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) at Ahmedabad on April 4, 2024. 

Earlier, the young player had made headlines when he broke Yuvraj Singh's record of the fastest fifty by an Indian in a T20 game. He scored his record-breaking fifty in just 11 balls against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023. 


KKR Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit Tried To End  Ashutosh Sharma’s Career

The PBKS player revealed that he was suffering mentally and was in depression when he was not part of the Madhya Pradesh squad despite performing well in the previous season. His former state team coach Chandrakant Pandit did not like him and he was excluded from the team despite his good performance. 

“In 2019, I scored 84 runs in my last game for Madhya Pradesh in T20, and next year a professional coach came in and he did not like me. The professional coach came in and he made me sit on the bench. And that was the time of Covid, so only 20 people would travel, and I would stay at the hotel. So I was in the hotel for 1-2 months and I went into depression since I didn’t even get to see the ground. I would just go to the gym and come back to my room," Ashutosh said.

The 25-year-old from Punjab has shared his story regarding his move to Railways from Madhya Pradesh, and he stated that he was in depression during that phase. 

"I got very irritated at that time and went into depression, thinking about what had suddenly happened, what wrong I did, no one even told me what mistakes I was making. I was just shunned out of the setup."


Received support at Railways: Ashutosh Sharma

Ashutosh was getting equal and proper opportunities after getting a job in the Railways. He also expressed that he is thankful to the Railways for giving him a chance to play and showed trust in him. 

"They (Railways) made me play Under-25 then they gave me a chance in T20s, and I did well as well. It was tough to come out of that (depression), but I had the belief that I would do it and am doing it," he said. 

Punjab Kings will play their next fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali on April 9, 2024.