Sandeep Sharma wasn’t picked at the IPL auction. In fact, it was a surprise for many of us to see one of the better opening bowlers in IPL history go unsold. And then the Rajasthan Royals added him to the team with just weeks left for the start of the competition. That’s when the roller coaster started for Sharma. From the disappointment of not being picked to being added to one of the better teams, Sharma’s life had seen all shades of emotion in a matter of days. Or so we thought.
As if to show what all sport is capable of, Sandeep Sharma was soon pitted against the legendary MS Dhoni in the last over of the contest against the Chennai SuperKings. Sharma had to defend 20 and in no time Dhoni had brought it down to 7 of 3. Exactly the same equation as last night. Sharma, unfazed, switched to round the wicket and nailed the angle. Even MSD wasn’t able to get it away and Sharma was justifiably the hero for RR. To be able to do so under pressure against the very best speaks of temperament and Sharma had proved it to one and all.
And just as all of us thought the Dhoni over wasn’t an aberration and Sandeep Sharma had done it again, did the shock come last night. He had overstepped. In focussing on nailing the wide outside the off stump trajectory, Sharma had crossed the dreaded no ball line by a few inches. Jos Butler who had taken the catch looked crestfallen and the reaction from Shimron Hetmyer said it all. Sharma, for one, looked stunned. Just a second earlier he had his arms in the air and was celebrating. And now he was being told he would have to rebowl it again because he had conceded a no ball free hit of the last ball. And this time round he wasn’t able to nail it. The pressure, understandably, got to him. A middle stump ball on the slot and it was soon hit for a six to seal a last ball improbable victory for the Hyderabad Sunrisers.
Sharma, it can be said, has now seen it all. From the ecstasy of stopping Dhoni to conceding a dreaded free fit off the last ball and losing the match, his life has seen emotion play out in all its hues. And it is tough. To know that you had won the match to coming to terms with what happened, it will not be easy for Sandeep Sharma. Having said that, it will make him stronger and perhaps more mature.
And as I have written elsewhere, none of this is new. Sport, as Abhinav Bindra says, teaches you to lose. In sport you will always lose more than you will win. Sachin Tendulkar was the greatest to play the sport. He scored 50 hundreds in 200 Tests. Simply put he did not score a 100 in 150 Test matches. That’s sport. Real, not reel. No retakes.
In sport you always fail in public. In front of millions. Just like Sachin did in 2007 when he was bowled in the match against Sri Lanka for a duck. He wanted to retire. Give it all up. Thankfully he did not. Sir Viv’s call made a difference. He came back, with his support system around him backing him up, and won the world cup in 2011. And yes, in public, in front of millions watching.
That’s why sport is unique. The only thing that allows you to fail in public and then come back and win in public. Sandeep Sharma will as well. He is a man of character and he too will come back a better player and better bowler. That’s what will define him. The comeback. Not the no ball and not the free hit.