Former India pacer Sandeep Sharma has revealed a thoughtful gesture by Punjab Kings co-owner from the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) and revealed why that moment is still very close to his heart. In one of his final outings for the franchise that season, Sandeep produced a match-winning spell of 3 for 22, guiding his team to defend a modest 138 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (then Royal Challengers Bangalore). His victims included three of RCB’s biggest names — Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers.“We were playing a match in Bengaluru against RCB. And I had taken three wickets with the new ball. Virat, ABD and Chris Gayle,” Sandeep told CricTracker.“So in that match, actually, the Player of the Match was supposed to be Axar Patel, who had also taken two wickets in that match and it was a low-scoring game.
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“In the last over, he had scored 25 runs (19 runs) and scored 38 runs (in total). But the Player of the Match was his, if you look at it. So Preity ma’am was there and she told Ravi Shastri there that the Player of the Match should be Sandy, he has picked three big wickets. “And actually, they gave me the Player of the Match. That was one sweet thing. And I actually went and offered it to Axar. But, he told me that these three wickets were very important. Otherwise, 138 runs wouldn’t have been defended anywhere,” he reflected. Sandeep Sharma has featured in 117 IPL games, claiming 146 wickets at an economy rate of a little above 8. Over the years, he has turned out for three franchises — Punjab Kings (2013–2017), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2018–2021), and currently Rajasthan Royals (2023–present).
