Lucknow: Opening up about his removal from the Ranji Trophy captaincy in the middle of last season, Karan Sharma, who has led Kashi Rudras to two UP T20 League titles, said he has moved forward, but the incident taught him important lessons both as a cricketer and as a person.“I believe every phase teaches you something and carries a message. As a cricketer and as a person, you should correct your mistakes, learn from them and keep moving forward. Every phase in life matters, and I learned a great deal from that experience,” Karan told TOI.On whether he is eyeing Uttar Pradesh’s captaincy again, Karan said leading the state is a matter of honour and responsibility. “Being the captain of your state is an honour, but it also comes with great responsibility — to help your team win matches, contribute to the side, take it forward and lead it to the best of your ability,” Karan said.Karan also expressed disappointment over not being shortlisted for the IPL auction despite finishing as the highest run-scorer in the UP T20 League.“I honestly do not know what happened or why I was not shortlisted for the IPL auction. I was surprised and disappointed because I was the highest run-scorer in the UP T20 League and still was not picked. But I am focused on doing what is in my control and continuing to perform,” Karan said.Speaking about the ongoing UP T20 League season, Karan said he is focused on taking one match at a time.“Personally and professionally, it feels great when you are the top scorer and the team becomes champion, like last season. Finishing on such a high is always satisfying. But this is a fresh season now, every day is new, and my approach is to take it one match at a time and reach the final,” he said.On the upcoming domestic season, the Kashi Rudras captain said runs in the UP T20 League would help him carry confidence into red-ball cricket. “The format may be different, but runs and good form always help in the domestic season,” he said.Karan further said that he had trained under his childhood coach, Rajan Sachdeva, and later went to Mumbai to seek guidance from former Indian cricketer Pravin Amre to improve his batting.
