Chandrakant Pandit, who is heading the coaching staff of Kolkata Knight Riders, is not new to controversy. Former KKR player David Weise had accused him of going tough with the experienced overseas players and even labeled him a militant coach. He accused the head coach of playing a significant role in KKR’s failure. And now, an old interview with Ashutosh Sharma, the new batting sensation of Punjab Kings, on Pandit has gone viral.
Ashutosh struck 31 runs off 17 balls and formed a match-winning partnership with Shashank Singh to script Punjab’s comeback win over Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024. He played good strokes, and Shikhar Dhawan, Irfan Pathan, and Sanjay Manjrekar lauded his skills.
Ashutosh played for the Railways in domestic cricket and broke Yuvraj Singh’s record of the fastest fifty in the T20 format. He completed his half-century in 11 balls, a ball less than Yuvraj. The 25-year-old achieved the record against Arunachal Pradesh in a Group C match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Sharma made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in 2018 and last played for the state in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019. When Pandit became MP’s head coach, Ashutosh fell out of favor and was not considered for three seasons.
“I scored 84 runs in my last innings for MP against Pondicheery. But Mr. Panit had his ways of functioning. He didn’t want me in the squad for any format. It was a tough moment for me,” Sharma told the Hindustan Times.
“It was heartbreaking to see what was happening to me. My childhood coach, Bhupen Chauhan, backed me, but he passed away last season before I started playing for the Railways. He knew I would return.”
Ashutosh is expected to play aggressively in the remaining matches of the 17th season of the cash-rich league.