This Punjab stalwart reveals how Chandrakant Pandit tried to end his career

Kolkata’s head of coaching staff, Chandrakant Pandit usually comes into the limelight for controversies. Ex-Kolkata player David Wiese had accused him of not having good relations with experienced overseas players and even tagged him as a militant coach. He charged the head coach with playing a notable role in Kolkata’s failure. Now an old interview with Ashutosh Sharma, the young batting sensation of Punjab, on Pandit has gone viral. 

Ashutosh Sharma smashed 31 runs off just 17 balls and played a match-winning knock with Shashank Singh to steer Punjab to the winning ways against Gujarat in the Indian T20 League 2024. Later on, his skills were praised by cricketing legends like Shikhar Dhawan, Irfan Pathan and Sanjay Manjrekar. 

Previously, Ashutosh played for the Indian Railways in domestic cricket and broke Yuvraj Singh’s record of fastest half-century in the T20 format of the game. He completed 50 runs in just 11 deliveries which is one ball less than Yuvraj Singh. The 25-year-old batter achieved this record against Arunachal Pradesh in the Group C fixture of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 

The Punjab match winner made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in 2018 and previously played for the state in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2019. Under Pandit’s era as the Head Coach of Madhya Pradesh, Ashutosh was not considered for three seasons.

“I scored 84 runs in my last innings for MP against Pondicheery. But Mr. Panit had his ways of functioning. He didn’t want me in the squad for any format. It was a tough moment for me,” Sharma said to a reputed media network.  

“It was heartbreaking to see what was happening to me. My childhood coach, Bhupen Chauhan, backed me, but he passed away last season before I started playing for the Railways. He knew I would return.”

Sharma is highly anticipated to play an aggressive style of cricket in the remaining fixtures of the 17th edition of the cash-rich league.