Who is Suyash Sharma: KKR's New Mystery Spinner Who Picked up a 3-fer on IPL Debut vs RCB

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday pulled off a rollicking 81-run win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), making it a perfect homecoming and opening their account on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 points tally. Shardul Thakur roared back in form with his maiden IPL fifty which help the Knight Riders set RCB a 205-run target. Later, the trio of mystery spinners – Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and the newest in the club, Suyash Sharma – ran through the Bangalore batting to bundle them out for 123 runs.

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While Chakravarthy and Narine are the old faces in the KKR camp, Suyash came in as a surprise package and sent shockwaves to the RCB camp. The right-arm leg-spinner picked up a three-wicket haul on his IPL debut, hunting down the likes of Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, and Karn Sharma. He returned figures of 3 for 30 in four overs.

Who is Suyash Sharma?

For the unversed, Suyash hails from Delhi and kickstarted his cricket career by playing club matches in the national capital. Impressed with his bowling skills at the trials, the KKR management handed him a contract for IPL 2023.

The Knight Riders were the only IPL side that bid for Suyash at the IPL 2023 auction. He was roped in by the two-time champions at his base price of INR 20 lakh.

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He plays for Delhi’s Under-25 team but the most interesting fact is, Suyash hasn’t played any List A, FC, or T20 matches before the RCB clash.

Praise from the coach and captain

Head coach Chandrakant Pandit was happy with rookie spinner Suyash Sharma’s ‘fighting attitude’, saying it was very difficult for rival batters to pick the 19-year-old from Delhi.

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“We have seen him (Suyash) at trial matches. He is very quick in the air, and it’s very tough to pick him. It’s just the inexperience, but he showed a fighting attitude," said Pandit after the match.

Speaking about Suyash after the match, KKR skipper Nitish Rana said, “Suyash is a confident young man and he has belief in himself. He made his chance count and it was great to see him bowl that way."

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