Ahmedabad, April 5 (IANS) Punjab Kings’s (PBKS) sensational comeback win over Gujarat Giants (GT) on Thursday not only boosts team’s morale but also showcases the potential of two emerging talents Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma.
Shashank hammered an unbeaten 61 off 29 balls, while Ashutosh made an integral contribution of 31 runs in 17 balls, as the duo backed themselves and led the charge, scripting a partnership of 43 runs in 22 balls, to chase down the mammoth total of 200 with three wickets and one ball to spare and brought the PBKS back to winning ways.
“I visualised moments like this. But turning it into reality, I am really happy and proud of myself,” Shashank, the 32-year-old batting allrounder said after the match. “I play cricketing shots more. My coaches told me that I have to watch the ball react to the ball, and play on merit.”
Shashank has played 58 domestic T20s in his career and has a strike rate of 137.34. While he plays for Chhattisgarh at the national level, he has also featured for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in the past.
“The wicket and the bounce were fantastic. I was batting against some of the legends. But when I go to bat, I have to believe I am the best. I do not look at the bowler and just react to the balls. I am grateful to Punjab management, the coaching staff, and owners for backing me during the training sessions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ashutosh, who joined the Punjab Kings this year, came out as an Impact substitute during the match and repaid the faith shown in him by the franchise on his IPL debut. His immediate success is a testament to PBKS’ acute understanding of the sport and tremendous scouting of talent.
The franchise kept their eyes on the 25-year-old for the past couple of years, and while hunting for a heavy-hitter who can finish off games, King’s scouting team was further impressed by Ashutosh during the trials in Mohali last November.
Ashutosh, after the match, expressed gratitude to the Punjab franchise for their constant support. “I would like to thank the team for believing in me. It feels great to give such a good performance on debut. But more than individual performance, what matters more is that our team won, and I was able to contribute to this win.”
The 25-year-old, who hails from the town of Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, moved to Indore at a tender age of 10 to hone his cricketing skills. Despite limited resources, Ashutosh learned to manage everything on his own, and worked as a ball boy and an umpire to make ends meet.
In a pivotal cricketing move, the right-handed batter moved to the Railways in 2022, and smashed a remarkable 11-ball 50 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, shattering Yuvraj Singh’s record. In an inter-railway game, he also hammered 200 in just 60 balls, and further increased the attention from Punjab Kings’ scouts.
Ashutosh also credited PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Head of Cricket Development Sanjay Bangar for instilling self-belief in him. “Shikhar paaji has taught me a lot about mental aspects of things. I had faith that I would be able to do it. I also want to credit Sanjay Bangar Sir, who also backed me and has been a source of inspiration since the first training session.” he signed off.
The Punjab based franchise has earlier identified a lot of young talent since its inception. In recent years, the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh and Harpreet Brar were also picked up at the grassroot level in 2019 by Ashish Tuli, who has been associated with the team since the last 15 years and was the head of talent identification & analyst of Punjab Kings back then.
–IANS
bc/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
