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Mohit Sharma had played just one IPL match in 2019 season, one match in 2020 season and hadn’t got to play a single game in the last two IPL seasons.Despite that, when he took the ball for his first match of IPL 2023, on his debut for Gujarat Titans, against Punjab Kings the 34-year-old seamer knew exactly what he had to do, and how he had to do it. For, Mohit Sharma had been told his role by Gujarat head coach Ashish Nehra very clearly. A former CSK and India pacer, Mohit Sharma came on to bowl in the 11th over of PBKS’ innings and bowled his spell of 4 overs in a space of 10 overs in the second half of PBKS’ innings.
Against Punjab, in his first game of the season and in the IPL after 3 years, Mohit Sharma returned with brilliant figures of 2/18, taking the wickets of Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran. PBKS were restricted to 153, which GT chased down with 1 ball in hand courtest of Gill’s half-century.
In his 3-over spell in the middle overs – bowling over number 11, 13, and 15 – he conceded only one four, and conceded another four in the 19th over.
When speaking at the post-match presentation, with the Man of the Match award in his hand, Mohit Sharma recalled how Ashish Nehra had asked him to train and be a net bowler for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022, after he’d gone unsold in the auction. Instead of sitting at home or doing commentary work, Mohit Sharma decided to be a net bowler with the Titans.
That paid off, as being impressed with his work ethic and considering his experience, GT bought him for INR 50 lakh in the IPL 2023 auction. He came in the side for Yash Dayal, who was dropped after Rinku Singh smashed 5 sixes off him. All of this worked out well for Gujarat and for Mohit Sharma.
“I had had a back surgery, and a lot of people weren’t sure if I had played enough domestic cricket [to be signed at the auction]. I got a call from Ashu bhai, saying I should be with the team, and if someone gets injured I’d get a chance.
“Obviously, if you have to upgrade your cricket or better it in any way, you need competitive practice. I felt, what am I going to do sitting at home? I was here and doing competitive practice instead, I kept myself involved in cricket, and I think it was a good time for me,” Mohit said in the mid-innings break.
“It’s not a bad thing to be a net bowler. You get very good exposure, you get to play alongside good players, and if you don’t do competitive practice, your cricket won’t evolve.”
Mohit Sharma used his variations cleverly and stuck with his hard lengths against Punjab batters and came out with terrific rewards.
Later he added: “I have had a good time at this venue. I thought of sticking to my variations, had a chat with Hardik in the middle overs, luckily it paid off. You need to train hard, give your 100 percent. Need to bowl according to the situation, and stick to the basics. I was given a role to bowl after 10 overs. Credit goes to the coach who has defined everyone’s role in the team.”
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