File photo of Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Sandeep Sharma.
Not many expected Sunrisers Hyderabad to make this far in the tournament, especially after the side lost their best fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar quite early in the season owing to an injury.
The team, however, managed to make it to the play-off stages, ensuring the net run rate situation was least of their bother as they trumped teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders on the points table.
While Rashid Khan, David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha off late have been the names who have been making the much-needed impact, some credit also goes to Sandeep Sharma for filling in the void left by Bhuvneshwar despite being nowhere close to the talent the leading Indian pacer possesses.
Picking 13 wickets in 11 games while maintaining an impressive bowling economy of 7.75, the mere 5’6’’ pacer has impressed many with his accuracy with the knuckle balls while combining his ability to vary the length for a lethal impact.
Speaking at an Espncricinfo show, former cricketer Gautam Gambhir felt that Sandeep understands his shortcomings and bowls without ego and that’s the reason behind his success.
“ If you see Sandeep Sharma, straightaway he has a long on back, a square leg back and brings the wicket-keeper up; he’s just smart. He plays well within his limitation and that’s why the format suits him. It’s the batter who will have to go after him rather than him going after the batters. I feel it’s not important to be the talented guy to be the most successful cricketer in the T20 format; you just have to be smart and play without an ego,” Gambhir said.
Former Aus cricketer Tom Moody agreed with Gambhir and felt batsmen need to be more respectful of the pacer if they really want to negate his impact.
