For a few seconds, think of transporting yourself to an imaginary land where, with a leather ball in hand, you’re clocking 150 kph. How would it feel to run to the crease with fluid strides and then waltz through the follow-through? And, finally, sending shivers down the spine of the batter. In this context, it is better to envisage wearing a fast bowler’s shoes and then ask that bowler the question.
Ashok Sharma, the young cricketer from Rampura, is still learning the fast-bowling trade. But he has experienced the sensation of bowling fast. In a recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game between Rajasthan and Hyderabad, he consistently touched 145 kph. And one of his offerings also nudged past 150 kph. Here’s what the young tearaway, who has gained a reputation of bowling the heavy ball, had to say to Revsportz on finding the sweet spot with his rhythm.
“I didn’t know that I bowled 150 kph,” he said. “After my first over, when I was fielding on the boundary, my teammate came to me to give me some water. That is when he told me, ‘You have touched 150 kph today.’ I thought he was joking. I know that I bowl over 140 kph. I bowled 146 kph in the Rest-of-India game. Then I asked, ‘Did it seriously happen?’ He said, ‘Yes, 148, 146, 149, 150…
“There is always a dream of bowling 150 kph, I felt very happy that what I thought, I have done it. When I was a kid, I used to watch everyone – there was that dream of bowling 150 kph some day.”
Beneath a sportsperson reaping the rewards, there is an unseen journey. A journey of hope, juxtaposed by despondency and struggles. The ones with reservoirs of willpower are able to row through a quagmire full of self-doubts – Can I make it big? Will I get financial support from my family? And so on. Ashok is no different. Coming from a humble background, his father, Nathu Lal Sharma, couldn’t afford to fulfil the dreams of both his sons. One of them had to sacrifice his ambitions, and that turned out to be Ashok’s elder brother.
“It (the dream) started during my school days, I started playing after watching my brother take up the game,” said Ashok. “My elder brother also was a medium pacer, so I became one. But when I started going to the academy, my father couldn’t afford to pay for both of us. He is a farmer. My elder brother sacrificed his career for me.
“Naturally, I used to bowl at a good pace. There was a coach at the school level called Nagendra Singh Rathore. He used to say, ‘You would play cricket for long, and play at higher levels.’ At the age of 16-17, I couldn’t go to my home, as it was quite far away. For 5-6 months, I wasn’t able to go back home.
“I used to play with the tennis ball, and if you’re a spinner in tennis-ball cricket, you get smashed,” he said. “In 2019, I played Under-19 cricket for Rajasthan. In 2020, I didn’t play. In 2021, I didn’t play either. Then I became RR’s net bowler. In 2022, I went over to KKR. In 2023 and 2024, I became a net bowler for RR. In 2025, I was a part of the RR team.”
Over the years, many coaches have helped Ashok to not just improve his skill set, but also financially. “Vivek Yadav (his childhood coach) supported me a lot,” said Ashok. “I didn’t have shoes during my academy days. Akash Singh, my senior at academy, who has played for India Under-19… from him I got the spikes. He (his coach) backed me a lot, and gave me a chance to play in the senior team.
“Zubin sir (Zubin Bharucha, Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals) used to talk a lot with me during net sessions. Even now, I talk with him regularly, I share videos of my bowling. He always keeps motivating me.”
Another salient feature is that Ashok seems to be a good listener. Be it Shane Bond at Rajasthan Royals or Pat Cummins at Kolkata Knight Riders, he has imbibed the right kind of advice and put it into practice.
“When I was with KKR, Pat Cummins was with me. He said, ‘Everyone has a key strength, hit the deck, swing bowling, someone would bowl the yorkers well. So, what is your strength?’ I said, ‘Hard length and wicket-to-wicket bowling.’ So, he told me to focus on it. And when I joined RR, I did have discussions with Bond. He also said, ‘Your hard-length bowling is good, and you also work on your yorkers.’ So, I kept working on it.
“Bond would give an example. There is Prasidh Krishna, right? He bowls two things, hard length and the yorker. And he bowled very well in the 2025 IPL. And Bond used to talk about the stump yorker, wide yorker, wide slower ones, he would work with me on these things.”
Ashok’s inquisitiveness to ask questions and upskill his game goes beyond giving an ear to coaches’ advice. It could be absorbing information from an experienced pace bowler or just by watching his idol go about his business of dismantling batting line-ups on TV. In this case, his favourite bowler happens to be a certain Dale Steyn.
“The attitude and aggression of Dale Steyn on the field,” said Ashok of the Proteas’ legend. “The day his bowling worked, he used to single-handedly win games. I follow a lot of his qualities. When it is my day, I have to win the game for the team. My aggression should be like him. When he would run to the crease, he (his run-up) looked different.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ashok has already excavated enough information about using the wobble seam – a weapon used extensively by modern-day pacers. “I have a simple plan, when nothing is happening, I come down to bowling wobble seam,” he said. “Like how Siraj bowls, I also try the same. I have asked him as well. When there is no swing, I end up bowling wobble seam.”
To illustrate the point about how Ashok implements his plans, just go through his spell for Rajasthan versus Saurashtra in the Indian T20 domestic tournament. He ripped through the opposition with figures of 4 for 20. The plan was simple – Bowl straighter lines, and blend it with the heavy ball and yorkers.
“One match against Delhi and then one against Saurashtra,” he said. “In one, I took 4 wickets for 16 (20), then in the other, I picked up two wickets. While playing against Saurashtra, I bowled hard length and cleaned up batters. In the game against Delhi, I bowled the last two overs, and whatever I had discussed with Shane Bond, to execute the yorkers, that went really well. I was feeling like whatever I have worked on, it is coming out well. I am in rhythm.”
Although Ashok is yet to play an IPL game, he has already been picked up by RR and KKR. So, what about sharing his experiences of watching an IPL Auction? In a light-hearted tone, Ashok says, “I don’t think I can watch the IPL Auction. I can’t really watch. When it happened for the first time, my friend told me. Last year also, one friend only told me.”
Even if Ashok doesn’t witness all the tension and drama of the upcoming mini-IPL Auction, it is logical to expect a few franchises to bid for the fast bowler. He isn’t just the top-wicket in this season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy with 20 scalps to his name, but a tall fast bowler hitting the bat hard on impact is a skill set that catches the eyeballs of franchises.
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