A word of praise from legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has twice earned leg-spinner Rahul Sharma a fresh lease of life. When he had dismissed Tendulkar during an IPL game in 2011 playing for Pune Warriors, tall and lanky Rahul had caught attention with his leg-break. Tendulkar put in a word of praise for the Jalandhar-born spinner.
People would compare him with India’s most successful leg-spinner Anil Kumble and within months he bagged team India berth. A facial nerve dysfunction affected his eyes during his IPL third season playing for Deccan Chargers but he worked with the doctors to come out of the problem. A nagging back injury followed by a knee injury, further put Rahul’s cricket career at stake. It was in 2014 that he last played his first-class as well as IPL game. In pursuit of making a comeback in IPL as well as for Punjab in the domestic circuit, Rahul was determined to work his way back. Despite working hard on his fitness for almost four years, he failed to make a comeback. His world came crashing when he lost his father to post covid complications in 2021. With no hope of making a comeback again for Punjab and facing financial challenges, Rahul mulled retirement and eyed leagues to continue his passion.
“I had been depressed for years for picking up multiple injuries and crucial junctures of my cricket career. I trained and worked on my rehab at the National Cricket Academy. But chances never came by easily. That’s when I lost my father and my job. Financial issues were staring at me. That’s when I spoke to Sachin paaji. He remembered how badly I wanted to play competitive cricket again. So, he offered me to play for India XI in the Road Safety World Series. That’s when I decided to retire and start my second innings with this league.” During the tense times, Indian women cricket team coach Ramesh Powar suggested Rahul to consult famous psychologist Mugdha Bhavare.
{{/usCountry}}“I had been depressed for years for picking up multiple injuries and crucial junctures of my cricket career. I trained and worked on my rehab at the National Cricket Academy. But chances never came by easily. That’s when I lost my father and my job. Financial issues were staring at me. That’s when I spoke to Sachin paaji. He remembered how badly I wanted to play competitive cricket again. So, he offered me to play for India XI in the Road Safety World Series. That’s when I decided to retire and start my second innings with this league.” During the tense times, Indian women cricket team coach Ramesh Powar suggested Rahul to consult famous psychologist Mugdha Bhavare.
{{/usCountry}}“Her sessions helped me come out of that phase. Now I will be eyeing foreign leagues too in the coming months. I need to earn and also continue with my passion for the sport,” said Rahul, who has played four ODIs and two T20Is for India. Rahul did make a comeback playing for Jalandhar last season in the Punjab inter-district tournament but his chances faded with young spinners Mayank Markande and Abhishek Sharma hogging the spotlight for the state team. Rahul, who was trained by Tony Lamba and Davinder Kalia in Jalandhar was once touted to be the next big thing after Anil Kumble when it came to leg-spin. However, injuries cut short his cricket career.
“I could not get a single chance at state level to showcase my bowling after recovering from my injuries. New generation of spinners had also cemented their places. But I am happy that various leagues across the globe are serving as huge platforms. I need money to sustain and give a good life. Losing my father to Covid has been the biggest tragedy. Had Sachin paaji not given me this chance, I would have gotten into depression again. Now I am chasing other leagues too,” added Rahul, who played 22 first-class, 35 list-A and 74 T20s in domestic cricket.
Season 2 of the Road Safety World Series is set to be played from September 10 to October 2 in Lucknow, Jodhpur, Cuttack, and Hyderabad. The second season of RSWS will feature a total of eight teams as New Zealand legends are included in the league. The teams to participate in the 2022 edition are India legends, Australia legends, Sri Lanka legends, West Indies legends, South Africa legends, Bangladesh legends, England legends, Se and New Zealand legends.
“Punjab Cricket Association has backed me through my journey. I want to play for some years and then probably get into different role and give back to the sport,” added Rahul.