Who is Suyash Sharma? - All you need to know about KKR's mystery leg-spinner

The Match 9 of IPL 2023 witnessed several heroic performances by Kolkata Knight Riders’ players as they stunned Royal Challengers Bangalore by defeating them by 81 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Apart from the several known names from international cricket, there was one hidden star in the team named Suyash Sharma who also contributed to the team’s victory with his three-wicket haul on his IPL debut.

The spinner, who was brought in as an impact player in the second innings, picked up the wickets of Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, and Karn Sharma to bring RCB down on their knees. The 19-year-old finished the game with figures of 3/30 in his four overs and had a dream debut in the world’s grandest T20 league.

Sharma has turned out to be the find of the tournament for KKR but what’s even more surprising about the talented youngster is the fact that he has no experience of playing professional cricket at all. He has not played a single List-A, First Class, or a domestic T20 and has been drafted into the KKR side after playing for the under-25 team of Delhi. He was bought at his base price of INR 20 lakh at the auction in December 2022.

Suyash tried his hand at batting first before turning to leg-spin

Sharma has been brought into the KKR side as a mystery spinner as his subtle variations are difficult to catch for any new batter. In an interview with Revsportz, the 19-year-old revealed that he started as a batter and later shifted to leg spin as he wanted to try something unique.

The budding spinner also said that he relishes the challenge to bowl against big players and is not overawed by the big stage of IPL and feels that he belongs there. Sharma is an attacking leg-spin bowler who doesn’t like to be defensive even after being hit for a six.

After grabbing the opportunity in his very first game by picking three wickets, Suyash will be keen to put on more match-winning performances for his team going ahead in the tournament.