'I wasn’t selected. Came home and shaved my head': KKR star shares unheard story of U-19 trials

Before his IPL debut, the KKR star had to bounce back from rejection during the U-19 trials.

The comeback is always stronger than the setback. Before making a spectacular debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 as an Impact Player, youngster Suyash Sharma had to bounce back from rejection during the U-19 trials. Suyash, who has been a major find for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023, recently revealed how gutted he was after he failed to make it to the U-19 squad.

Kolkata Knight Riders' Suyash Sharma with teammates celebrates after the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Suyash S Prabhudessai (PTI)

Sharma was 19 when the uncapped Indian bowler bagged three wickets on his IPL debut against Virat Kohli-starrer Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to set up KKR's stunning win at Eden Gardens. Speaking to IPL in an interview, the KKR spinner revealed that he was reduced to tears following his non-selection. The promising young talent even shaved his head after returning home.

“Last year I gave trials for U-19 and performed well," Suyash told IPL in an interview, “I wasn’t selected and then between 12:30 am and 1 am, they put out a list but I was asleep. I got up around 3 and kept crying for two hours. I was told they want to see me bowl once. I went there but was told they won’t entertain me. I returned crying, came home and shaved my head. I was quite disappointed. Couldn’t believe despite doing well, this was happening to me," Suyash said.

Interestingly, the KKR bowler didn't feature in a single professional competition before his IPL debut at Eden Gardens. “I vowed to work on my skills so much so that one day, they will call me up themselves. And then slowly hair started growing back, and performances also improved so I decided to let them be. The hairstyle suited me and hence the long hair," Suyash added.

The leg-spinner has picked up 10 wickets in his 9 appearances this year, mostly as Impact Player, at an economy rate of 8. Even in KKR's humiliating defeat against RR where Yashasvi Jaiswal mauled pretty much every bowler, Suyash held his own and even troubled the left-hander with his googlies.