Gujarat Titans’ Ashok Sharma has become a household name in India thanks to his really fast bowling in the ongoing Indian Premier League. He has often clocked 150 kmph, and his fastest delivery to date has been 154.2 kmph against Rajasthan Royals last month. Dhruv Jurel was at the receiving end.
And then bowling fast is not everything. Line and length are even more important, and that’s something Ashok needs to work on, and he is working on. As far as the 23-year-old is concerned, nothing is impossible for him. He has the word ‘Impossible’ tattooed on the inside of his left arm, and the interesting thing about that is that the first two letters — I and m — are struck off. So, it’s actually ‘possible’. What it means is that everything is possible, not impossible. His motto!
“I got this tattoo about a year and a half ago. I was at home and spotted the word “impossible” somewhere. It struck me that I could strike off “im” in the impossible to get the tattoo.
“The idea behind it was that while [working out in] the gym or bowling [hard] or running, [sometimes] negative thoughts enter the mind ki ho gaaya yaar ab nahin ho paayega [I can’t do this anymore].
“For example, if I am doing a 2km time trial run, at times I get weary and the thought arrives that I am done today. But then I remember there is nothing that is not possible in this world. Do it. Aaj hee karega tab aage jaa ke kuch milega [If I do this today, it’ll pay off tomorrow],” Ashok told ESPNcricinfo.
But still a long way to go!
Ashok, who plays for Rajasthan in domestic cricket, has previously been with Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, however, he didn’t get any game time there. This season, at last, he made his IPL debut.
Ashok has featured in six games so far and has taken six wickets, but more often than not he has been taken to the cleaners by opposition batsmen, as suggests his economy rate of 10.86. But he is not deterred and hopes to get better. “I had a dream to play [at the highest level], and I feel it is steadily being fulfilled. Obviously, the best is yet to come; I am just learning to contribute to the team, but I am putting in all my effort,” he said.
On Saturday, once again GT take on RR this season, but this time at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, where Ashok has played a lot of cricket. Maybe tomorrow will be his day. He has already impressed with his pace, and now’s the time for executing the right lines and lengths.
