NEW DELHI: His daredevil batting made everyone stand up and take note in IPL-2024. Ashutosh Sharma finished the tournament with a strike-rate of 167.25 lower down the order for Punjab Kings. Along with Shashank Singh, he helped Punjab Kings pull off quite a few wins while chasing. But while Punjab retained Shashank — along with Prabhsimran Singh — they let Sharma go. Now, Ashutosh is eagerly waiting for the side he calls “home” to use one of their ‘Right to Match’ cards for him at the upcoming mega auction.
“I would be delighted if Punjab Kings used the right to match card for me,” Ashutosh told TOI. “I had a really good time with them. They treated me very well last season. They gave me the freedom to play the way I want to,” said the 26-year-old, who represents Railways in domestic cricket.
Ashutosh also listed three other franchise names whose jerseys he would love to wear. “I love CSK because of Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni). I also like RCB because of Virat bhaiya, then MI is there since I follow Surya bhaiya a lot,” he said. “But what’s more important for me is to get regular opportunities to play.”
This season, with Punjab Kings struggling at 77/6 against MI in Mullanpur, Ashutosh struck a 28-ball 61. The highlight of his knock was a paddle-swept six over deep square leg off Jasprit Bumrah. A quintessential Bumrah yorker was turned into a full toss and perfect execution followed. “That was a dream shot. Everyone knows me because of that shot.”
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