KKR vs PBKS: Sandeep Sharma Hopes To Play For India Again

Punjab Kings’ bowler, Sandeep Sharma hopes to play for India again. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he revealed that he still wants to play for the country. He said that if that dream is not there, as a player one cannot put in the hard yards. He also said that since he is only 28, he is only one good season away from an India call-up.

Sandeep Sharma last played for India after a stellar season with Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2014 when they made the finals. Sharma took 18 wickets in the season and got an India call-up. He played 2 games for the country against Zimbabwe, but after that due to injuries, he fell off the selectors’ radar.

Sandeep Sharma: An Underrated Bowler

Sandeep Sharma has been an underrated bowler in the IPL as even during the auctions not many teams showed any interest in him and he was picked by Punjab again for whom he played for five seasons prior to moving to the Sunrisers Hyderabad after the 2018 mega auctions.

Sharma has had a  wood over Virat Kohli in the T20s as he has dismissed him the most number of times in the format, on being asked if he was aware of the record and if it plays in his mind while bowling to him, he said that he is aware of the record and as a bowler as well, it does play on his mind, but since every day is a new day and every match a new match he does not really think much about the stats.

Sandeep Sharma also holds the record for dismissing the trio of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle in a single match in 2017 while playing for Punjab, on being asked about the match, he said, “That is of course a special match for me and I cherish that match a lot. But I feel that for any bowler it would have been a very big moment in their career because all those three were at their peak and they are all one of the greats of the game and to get all of them out in a single match. I feel very happy knowing that the moment is part of my life.”

Sharma is happy with his return to the Punjab franchise after 4 years. He told Hindustan Times that when he first played for the Punjab team he used to be a one-dimensional bowler but after his stint with SRH he has become a complete bowler as now he can bowl in the middle over and death overs as well.

He revealed that in the first game of the new season he bowled 2 overs in the power play and 2 overs in the death. He also mentioned that it might change once Kagiso Rabada joins the team but he nevertheless is ready for any role the team wants him to play.

On being asked who is his dream wicket in IPL 2022, he said, “My dream wicket will be Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) as I am yet to dismiss him as a bowler.”

Only time will tell if MS Dhoni would also become one of Sharma’s biggest scalps when the Kings play the Chennai Super Kings on 3rd April 2022.

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