15 Interesting facts about Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma the right-arm medium pacer from India, who plays domestic cricket for Punjab. Sandeep has always been known for accuracy and his ability to swing the ball both ways. He plays for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League from 2013 and has been impressive picking up wickets and throwing down economical spells. He is also most successful pacer and second most successful bowler for Kings XI, behind Piyush Chawla, who had played 5 more seasons than Sandeep.

1. Birth:

Sandeep Sharma was born on 18th May 1993 at Patiala in the Indian state of Punjab.

2. Nickname:

He is fondly known as ‘Sandy’ among his friends and teammates.

3. Spotting the cricketer at School:

Sandeep Sharma started playing cricket from his school and his coach Mr. Kamaljeet Singh always used to make him practice more and Mr. Munish Bali, the fielding coach of the Indian women’s cricket team then spotted him at the Patiala stadium and took me under his wing.

From there his life has changed and he feels really lucky to have met those father figures early in his career to guide him along the right path.

4. U19 World Cups:

Sandeep represented India in the U19 World Cup 2010 in New Zealand and the U19 World Cup 2012 in Australia. He picked up 4 wickets in 2012 U19 World Cup against the hosts, which helped India win the match and lift the trophy. He ended the tournament as the joint highest wicket-taker for India (12).

5. The IPL contract:

He got his first IPL contract in the 2013 season, from the Kings XI Punjab. It was mainly due to his performance in the U19 World Cup in 2012 and he had also followed it up with some great performances in the Ranji Trophy that made him get the IPL contract. However, he played only 4 matches and took 8 wickets in the 2013 season.

6. Debut for India:

After having a good season in the IPL 2014, Sandeep Sharma was drafted in the Indian national team and made his debut against Zimbabwe on 17th July 2015 in a T20 international. He was taken away for 34 runs in his 3 overs. He played his 2nd T20I match as well and was again expensive costing 39 runs in his 4 overs, though, he got his maiden wicket in the game.

7. Best buddies in the dressing room:

Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra are the best buddies he has in the dressing room since they childhood friends and have played along with him for the Kings XI Punjab as well.

8. Best wicket of his career:

Sandeep Sharma rated Kraigg Brathwaite’s wicket in the U19 World Cup 2012 as the best wicket of his career. It was an out-swinger from wide of the crease and it squared up the batsman and his off-stump went for a walk.

9. Bharat Arun’s role:

Sandeep Sharma termed the India Under-19 coach, Bharat Arun as the most inspirational person in his career. The former Indian all-rounder, Arun has had a significant role in molding the youngster.

10. Dream wicket:

Rahul Dravid is the one batsman, Sharma wanted to dismiss, but Dravid has retired now. He said that he had dismissed him in the NCA nets, and he does know the difference between taking his wicket in nets and in a match. “Rahul Dravid is one batsman whom I wanted to dismiss but unfortunately he has retired now. I have dismissed him in NCA nets but I know taking his wicket in nets and in a match is different,” he once said to Wisden India in an interview.

11. Best thing that has ever happened to him:

Sandeep rates the U19 World Cup victory in 2012 in Australia as the best thing that has ever happened to him.

12. Dream IPL season:

In 2014, he had a great IPL season with 18 wickets under his belt from 11 appearances at an average of 19.66 and at a strike-rate of 13.3. And surely this is one of the best seasons he ever had in IPL.

13. Special gift from Preity Zinta

When Sandeep won his first ever Man of the Match in IPL, Preity Zinta gave him a special gift. Here is what he said about the special gift – “It was in Dubai when I won my first Man of the Match award. Preity Zinta called me in the meeting room and gave me a gift. It was also very special because the entire team lauded my efforts, which was very humbling.”

When asked about what the gift was, he laughed and said, “Sorry, I can’t tell you that.”

14. Most cherished wicket(s) in IPL:

He had been phenomenal in the year 2014. He also had his most cherished wickets in the same edition of the IPL. He bowled a dream spell against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in UAE and dismissed Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli in his very first over.

15. Hardest batsman to ball at:

Sandeep believes that the South African, AB de Villiers is probably the hardest batsman to ball at because of his 360-degree batting. De Villiers is said to have the ability to hit the ball to different parts of the ground.