Himachal Pradesh cricketer Sidharth Sharma dies aged 28

Himachal Pradesh’s cricketer Sidharth Sharma left for his heavenly abode aged 28 on January 12 at about 9:00 p.m. while on a trip for the Ranji Trophy with his team in Gujarat. He had been on the ventilator for the past two weeks and breathed his last on Thursday. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister's Office broke the news of the pacer’s death.

Sharma, who had previously won the Vijay Hazare Trophy with his side, had been going through a prolonged illness. He had been hospitalised for quite some time, and amid reports of his recovery, his health deteriorated and he passed away in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the shocking news as the official CMO account tweeted:

“Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed deep grief over the demise of Siddharth Sharma, a member of Himachal's Vijay Hazare Trophy-winning cricket team and the state's star fast bowler. The Chief Minister has expressed his deepest condolences with the bereaved families.”

मुख्यमंत्री श्री @SukhuSukhvinder ने हिमाचल की विजय हजारे ट्रॉफी विजेता क्रिकेट टीम के सदस्य रहे और प्रदेश के स्टार तेज गेंदबाज सिद्धार्थ शर्मा के निधन पर गहरा शोक व्यक्त किया है। मुख्यमंत्री ने शोक संतप्त परिजनों के साथ अपनी गहरी संवेदनाएं व्यक्त की हैं।

— CMO HIMACHAL (@CMOFFICEHP) January 13, 2023

Sidharth was cremated at Bhabhor Saheb crematorium on Friday, January 13. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal, Una MLA Satpal Satti, former HPCA secretary Sumit Sharma, HPCA member Surendra Sharma, district cricket association president Madan Puri and former MLA Satpal Raizada were also among those who expressed grief over the shocking news.

Born in Una, Sharma’s domestic career was very short-spanned. In a period of five years, he represented Himachal Pradesh in one T20 game, six First-Class games, and as many List A games. His last game was against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in December last year, where he picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings and a couple of wickets in the next.

Sharma made his First-Class debut for Himachal in the 2017-18 edition and picked up 25 wickets in Ranji Trophy games since then. He played his first List-A game at the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 tournament, and picked up eight wickets in six games.