Follow UsDespite several top spinners being available at the IPL 2025 mega auction, RCB took a brave call to spend INR 2.6 crore on 21-year-old Suyash Sharma. In the aftermath of the auction, that decision was trolled severely, given that the leggie had played just two matches last year without any wickets.
Furthermore, the leggie wasn’t even in contention to play IPL 2025’s opening clash against KKR, given his concern with an injury.
That’s where RCB stepped up and sent him to London for his surgery ahead of the season, which made him fit right on time for the first clash, and he has not looked back since then, with four crucial wickets in the season. The leggie opened up about his relationship with the franchise, praising them for taking care of him.
“RCB sent me to London for my surgery. There, I met James Pipey (RCB Team Physio). He and his family treated me like family. I had three hernias. To be honest, I didn’t expect to play the first match. I was told I would play three or four matches later because it was a big surgery. But Pipey and his family took care of me. I’m very thankful that I’m in this franchise. I’m fit now,” Suyash said in a video posted by RCB.
“I had been suffering from pain for the past two years. I was used to playing in pain. The problem is that if you’re playing for India or a franchise, then you can manage. When I wasn’t playing, I had this injury, but I didn’t even know it. I went to a physiotherapist but it was very difficult. RCB showed me a lot of faith. They invested in me. I’m very happy with my surgery. The path I’m on now, I wasn’t on before. Whatever happens, happens for the best,” he added.
Ironically, the Delhi leg-spinner made his debut for KKR against RCB, where he turned several heads with his performance. Looking back at his debut season, Suyash revealed that he had picked up eight wickets in a practice game, which is why he played that IPL season.
“I had never played in a proper tournament before the IPL. I had only played Under-25. I spent six or seven years in trials but was never picked. Every time I visited my parents, they would ask when I’d get a chance in the IPL. But my mum and dad never doubted me. They could see how hard I was working. After the Under-25s, I went for IPL trials,” he said.
“At that time, my googly was very sharp. I think I took eight wickets out of ten in one match, it was a KKR practice match, and even the wicket-keeper was getting beat. That’s when I was picked. My father was in hospital then. He cried when he heard. No one expected me to play IPL so soon.”
The 21-year-old also revealed that he was on bed rest for three months before the IPL and only started bowling a few weeks before the competition's start.
"I was bed-rested for three months. I started bowling two weeks before the IPL. But before that, before the surgery, when I was with Mr. Malo, after the auction, he told me about my small things. I worked on my run-up. My run-up is my bowling. If you keep thinking about something, in your mind, when you are about to do it, you feel like you are prepared,” he said.
“Wrist spinners are like this. If they don't bowl for a week or two, a lot of things go wrong. I was bed-rested for three months. I think I visualized a lot in those three months. When I came to bowl, I didn't feel like this. Because I kept thinking about my bowling all day. There is an affirmation. I used to run it. And I used to keep thinking about my bowling."
Funnily enough, Suyash had started his cricketing journey as a batter and only took up spin duties at a later age, revealing that his action came to him naturally.
“When I was younger, I started as a batter. Then I began spin bowling in the park. It came naturally to me. That’s how I became a bowler. My action just came naturally. I have tried to fine-tune a few things, but the action itself is just natural,” he added.
Things, however, did not come easily for Suyash, who wasn’t from a well-off family. Not just that, when he made his IPL debut, the leggie also lost his dad after his battle with cancer. Despite the battles throughout his life, Suyash revealed that his family never doubted him.
“My mum was my teacher. My dad had a factory. Two years back, I lost my father. He was suffering from cancer. He passed away in hospital while I was just starting to get noticed. My family has always supported me, whether I played for the state or not. They’ve been my backbone throughout. They never doubted me, because they saw my hard work every day.”