New Delhi: A native of the swarming lanes of Bhajanpura in North East Delhi, Suyash Sharma turned out to be the unlikely hero for Royal Challengers Bengaluru on the night of the IPL Qualifier 1 against table-toppers Punjab Kings in Mullanpur.
The wiry leg-spinner, who once had a mop of hair but now dons a more slick hairstyle, delivered a game-changing spell of 3/17, dismantling PBKS hopes with the wickets of Shashank Singh, Musheer Khan and Marcus Stoinis — all with his googly.
PBKS were already in trouble at 59/5 when Suyash was asked to bowl but the two wickets in his first over sealed the collapse. “The coaches have told me just one thing: I have to hit the stumps — whether it’s a googly, legbreak or flipper,” he said after the match. “There was some help from the pitch, but I think my googly is what made the difference.”
Suyash’s wrong ‘un has always been his secret weapon. A pivotal figure in Suyash’s journey was the late coach Suresh Batra, who mentored him during his early years. The googly was also what first caught the attention of the Delhi selectors during his U-25 trials.
Kartar Nath, who handled Dena Bank’s team for the DDCA League, had been nudging Gursharan Singh, then-chair of the Delhi selectors, to give the teenager a chance. “It was his unusual action and the confidence with which he bowled his googly that stood out,” Nath told HT. “I just asked them to watch him — he had the talent, he just needed the opportunity. There is incredible talent in Delhi. It’s a metro city after all, players come from everywhere. But backing a player amidst the politics that happens here is very important. I believed in him but he always had what it takes.”
That opportunity, however, didn’t come easily. Suyash had been spotted by Kolkata Knight Riders who picked him in 2023. After two seasons in and out of the playing XI, RCB picked him up for ₹2.6 crore in the mega-auction ahead of this season.
However, Suyash had been playing through the pain of hernia in three places for nearly two years. RCB sent him to London for surgery ahead of the season. He returned fitter, lighter, and the renewed clarity and confidence of the franchise seems to have been repaid.
“It helped that he had the trust of the team,” said RCB captain Rajat Patidar. “We’ve kept the messaging simple. Stick to your strengths, bowl stump to stump. His wrong’un is hard to read anyway. I always want to give him clear ideas, I don’t want to confuse him. I am okay if he concedes a few runs in the process.”
That clarity has been crucial. Nath revealed that Suyash mentioned to him on a phone call that even two games ago, the RCB coaching staff reminded him not to overthink. Instead, he needed to back his googly – the very reason he was here. This season, his numbers (8 wickets from 13 games at an economy of 8.81) are not mind-boggling but his performance on Thursday also aligned with RCB’s trend of having a new match-winner turn up for them through the season.
Beyond the field, Suyash has had his share of challenges. Besides financial pressure and limited backing, two years ago, he lost his father to cancer and that had been tough to recover from personally.
“It’s not always easy to find the right backing,” Nath said. “Suyash always had it in him. He just needed someone to believe in him. It was also about luck that RCB supported him even beyond the field. It has shown in his performance.”
On a crucial day, Suyash’s googly baffled and proved to be a quiet force in RCB’s push for their first IPL title.
