Ashutosh Sharma

Ashutosh Sharma is an explosive batter who, last summer, broke Yuvraj Singh’s 16-year-old record for the fastest T20 fifty by an Indian.

In only his second outing for Indian Railways, he walked out to bat at 131-4 with just 5 overs remaining. What ensued was utter carnage – 8 sixes and a solitary 4 from Sharma’s bat, as he brought up his record-breaking fifty from only 11 balls, finally being dismissed for a 12-ball 53 against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20).

Sharma’s innings, the second fastest T20 fifty in history, surpassed Yuvraj’s previous record set against England during the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.

The Ratlam-born and Indore-raised Sharma was just 9 years old when Yuvraj hit 6 sixes off a Stuart Broad over in Durban. The now 25-year-old, who considers Ben Stokes as his idol, never imagined that he would break Yuvraj’s record one-day, but he is hoping the innings propels him to higher honours in future.

Sharma enjoyed a remarkable maiden 2023/24 season for Indian Railways having moved from Madhya Pradesh, with whom he represented in 2018-19. It was a difficult decision to move from his beloved State, but despite three 50-plus scores, including an 84 (51 balls) against Puducherry, he was overlooked by the State.

After three years away from the game, he returned to the domestic fold for Railways, and the rest, they say, is history. After his record-breaking 53 against Arunanchal, he would go on to register notable scores against Saurashtra (45 from 14 balls), Goa (28 from 19), and Andhra (43 from 12).

Courtesy of his six-hitting ability, he was drafted by the Punjab Kings for IPL 2024 for 20 lakhs. On debut against the Gujarat Titans he played a crucial knock of 31 runs off 17 balls as an impact player as Punjab accelerated at the back end of their innings to successfully chase 200. A few games later, he produced a stunning 62 from only 28 balls against the star-studded Mumbai Indians side to cement his spot in the Kings starting line up.

Roll on the 2025 edition, and Sharma was signed up by the Delhi Capitals for ₹3.80 crore. During the team's first match of 2025 IPL against Lucknow Super Giants, he made 66 not out off 31 balls, after coming in to bat when the team was 65/5, and helped Delhi Capitals chase the target of 210. He would go on to produce several notable innings throughout the campaign, and became an integral cog in the Capitals batting machine.

Sharma is a stand-out performer who is now back in the UK playing for Wigan in the Liverpool League, following his prior exploits for Middlesex Titans (2018), and Gravesend (2022-23), respectively (2,193 runs at 53.49 and 52 wickets at 20.54).