FAST & CURIOUS

23-year-old Ashok, who can clock ISOKPH, is gearing up for a full season with Gujarat Titans

- GOMESH S @Chennai

ANSHU Jain remembers when Akshay Sharma, elder brother of Rajasthan and Gujarat Titans pacer Ashok Sharma, came to talk to him during a selection match.

By then, Jain, coach of Rajasthan, had seen and worked with Ashok at various age-groups. What he did not know were the sacrifices Akshay and his family had made for Ashok to pursue his dream.

Hailing from a farming family in Rampura village near Jaipur, Ashok and Akshay both played cricket growing up. Akshay was already a district-level player and Ashok followed his footsteps. However, because of financial constraints, only one of them could afford to pursue the dream of playing cricket. Akshay stepped aside, allowing Ashok to continue playing cricket. “His family has made a lot of sacrifices,” Jain told this daily. “I remember when we were playing a tournament selection match, his brother came to meet me. He told me, ‘the family has high expectations of him. We belong to a farmer’s family. We don’t have a lot of money, but we will do our best’. Later I got to know that his brother sacrificed his cricket so that Ashok can play,” Jain said.