Ranji Trophy: ‘He gave up his dream for mine’ — Rajasthan’s Ashok Sharma repays brother’s faith

On the eve of Rajasthan’s crucial Ranji Trophy fixture against Mumbai, young fast bowler Ashok Sharma had a long conversation with coach Anshu Jain.

With Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed out of action for the crucial game, Rajasthan’s fast bowling unit was to be spearheaded by the seasoned Aniket Chaudhary, along with Ashok, who made his First-Class debut against Jammu and Kashmir this season.

The coach told him to bowl stump to stump, and on Saturday, the strategy worked as he picked up three crucial wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan and Siddhesh Lad.

“Our bowlers maintained a proper line and length, and that helped. The coach had asked me to bowl stump to stump, and that strategy worked in our favour,” Ashok told  Sportstar.

Riding on Ashok’s feat, Rajasthan managed to take control over the game after a 100-run opening stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Musheer Khan. And, on a day when he hogged the limelight, an emotional Ashok remembered how his elder brother Akshay sacrificed his own cricketing career in a bid to make him a cricketer.

“My elder brother, Akshay, played at the district level, but he sacrificed his career for me. My father is a farmer. When I was in class 10, my father said that only one of us could play as they were not in a position to bear the cost for both. So, my brother agreed to give up cricket,” Ashok said.

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While he has risen through the ranks, Ashok is grateful to his elder brother for allowing him to chase his dreams. “Had it not been for him, I wouldn’t have come so far,” Ashok said.

Having been part of the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, Ashok had to wait for a while before making his First-Class debut. While he claimed three wickets in that game in Srinagar, the 23-year-old believes that the game against Mumbai was indeed a test of character.

“When you perform well against a big team, everyone takes note. And, this was an opportunity for me to prove my mettle,” he said. With national selector Pragyan Ojha in attendance, it was a perfect opportunity for the young gun to get noticed, and he turned things around for Rajasthan with three wickets in the post-lunch session.

“I enjoyed taking the wicket of Ajinkya  bhai. He doesn’t move his feet much as he is used to playing on red-soil surfaces, and I planned accordingly, and it worked,” he said.

A die-hard fan of Dale Steyn, Ashok wants to break into the national team someday. But he is not in a hurry. Though not quite articulate, he wants to let the ball do the talking.

Published on Nov 01, 2025