Pace is pace: Ashok Sharma’s 150 kph rise, powered by Pat Cummins’ valuable advice | Exclusive

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan head coach Anshu Jain vividly recalls his first impression of Ashok Sharma when he saw him bowling in the nets in Jaipur.“Erratic but fast,” Jain tells TimesofIndia.com.

The 23-year-old Rajasthan pacer was roped in by Gujarat Titans for ₹90 lakh at the IPL 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. But Ashok isn’t making headlines for the money — he’s in the spotlight for his raw pace. The young fast bowler shattered an 11-year-old record in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and, with 22 wickets, finished as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I’m not surprised at all. He has worked on his length, and now with the speed, there is accuracy as well.

In our match against Hyderabad, he didn’t pick any wickets in one over, but all six balls he bowled were above 145 kph, with one touching the 150 mark,” says Jain, who has closely tracked Ashok’s rise since his U-19 days.

For Ashok, who hails from a farming background, fast bowling came naturally — inspired by his elder brother Akshay Sharma.“I was naturally quick. Ever since I started bowling, I’ve always had good pace,” Ashok tells TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.

“I’ve learnt everything from my elder brother Akshay. He was a bowler. I used to watch his school matches. He taught me the basics of fast bowling and even took me to the academy,” he says.Growing up in Rampur, a village near Jaipur, the Sharma family had to make a tough decision about the future of their sons. Nathulal, a farmer, wanted them to either focus on education or help in the fields. Akshay stepped up, sacrificed his own cricketing ambitions, and convinced their parents to let Ashok pursue the game.

“He sacrificed his career. We come from a farming background, and only one of us could play. My brother is my everything,” says an emotional Ashok.Ashok found a mentor in Vivek Yadav, a former Ranji Trophy cricketer, who took him under his wings and was instantly drawn to his pace — much like Anshu Jain.“He played a big role in my life. When I joined the academy, I was 17. He supported me a lot. On my very first day in the morning nets, he asked me what I did.

He watched me bowl, put me straight into the senior team of the academy and told the coach that I must play all matches. He supported me in everything. I could talk to him like an elder brother — ask him anything — and he always helped me,” Ashok shares.But during the Covid-19 pandemic, Vivek Yadav — a part of Rajasthan’s back-to-back Ranji Trophy title-winning teams in 2010–11 and 2011–12 — passed away in a Jaipur hospital due to complications.

The loss devastated Ashok.

“That was the last time I shed tears. I thought my career was over. He wanted me to play for India. He used to say, ‘You’ll play for India very soon, you’ll play top-level cricket very soon,’” he says.After Vivek’s passing, Anshu Jain, then the coach of the Jaipur district team, picked Ashok for the inter-district tournament, backing him despite resistance.

“He was quick even then, but the problem was line and length.

He bowled a bit short. Selectors didn’t like him because he leaked runs. But he was an X-factor. I used to have big fights with selectors. How many 140-plus bowlers do you see? There aren’t many,” Jain recalls.“I was the U-23 coach last year, picked him again and played him in all matches. He worked hard on his length. He bowled well in the Ranji Trophy, and now in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, everyone is praising him. He must have bowled around 300 overs this season.

He’s a gun fielder, has very strong hands, is quick and agile, and can hit big sixes with the bat as well,” Jain adds.

Ashok landed his first IPL deal in 2022 when Kolkata Knight Riders signed him for ₹55 lakh. He was later released and spent a season as a net bowler with Rajasthan Royals. In the 2025 mega auction, Royals picked him for his base price of ₹30 lakh, only to release him again without giving him a game.Despite the ups and downs, one thing remained constant — the advice he received from Pat Cummins during his stint with KKR.“I never thought about slowing down. I just wanted to keep my pace and hit the right length. In 2022, I spent a lot of time with Pat Cummins,” Ashok recalls.“I spoke to him about length and what I could do better. He asked me a simple question: ‘What is your strength?’ Every bowler has one — some swing it, some seam it. He asked me what I felt my strength was. I told him I could hit a hard length at good pace. He told me to stick to that.

Whenever I practise, I remember his words. They still echo in my ears.”

At KKR, former India bowling coach Bharat Arun also fine-tuned Ashok’s action and run-up.“When I was picked, I knew nothing. My only thought was to bowl fast. Bharat Arun sir taught me what it takes to stay fit as a fast bowler — diet, training, recovery and how to take care of my body,” Ashok says.Jain vouches for the transformation he’s seen over the last two years.“He’s very particular about training and diet. He bowls long spells. Even though modern fast bowlers are advised against it, you need overs under your belt to get accuracy right. This season, he’s bowled with the old ball as well. I’ve seen batters get scared. I strongly believe he will play for India,” Jain says confidently.Despite the praise, Ashok remains grounded.

“The one person I miss the most is Vivek bhaiya,” he says softly.“Ab jisne mujhe itna ready kiya, itna kaam kiya, mujhe ready kiya, ab woh hi nahi hai dekhne ko, toh bura lagta hai (The person who prepared me so thoroughly, who worked so hard to make me ready, is no longer here to see it — that hurts deeply),” he adds.“There’s an extra responsibility on me now. I regularly talk to Vivek bhaiya’s family. His mother, wife and daughter — I keep visiting them,” Ashok says.Bowling fast is Ashok’s obsession, and he wants to get quicker. But one dream tops even speed — meeting Dale Steyn.

“My brother and I are big Dale Steyn fans. We had his poster in our room. I met him during the IPL when I was with KKR and he was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling coach. Unse ek-do dafa mulaqat hui — baat nahi ho paayi — but saamne se mile, hello hua, utna hi kaafi hai. Jinko TV pe dekh ke bade hue, jinki poster deewar pe lagayi, unse milna hi sab kuch hota hai (I met him once or twice. We didn’t really get to talk, but even meeting him face to face and exchanging a hello felt enough.

To meet the people you grew up watching on TV, whose posters were on your wall — that itself means everything),” Ashok laughs.The 2025–26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy has largely belonged to batters, with records tumbling across the tournament. Amid the run-fest, only a handful of bowlers have stood out — and Ashok Sharma is one of them. Capable of clocking speeds up to 150 kph, Jain believes there’s even more pace to come. If Ashok sustains his form through the rest of the domestic season and the IPL, the doors of Indian selection may not remain shut for long.