In a latest, GT pacer Ashok Sharma has straightaway been drafted into the IND A side for the ODI tri-series involving Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A as well. The 23-year-old, who just moved from Rajasthan to Gujarat, comes in as an injury replacement for injured bowler Yudhvir Singh, as per a report in the Times of India.
Ashok Sharma replaces Yudhvir Singh
Ashok is scheduled to fly to Colombo for the tri-series on Tuesday morning, before reaching Dambulla, where the team is stationed for the series. In fact, it was only on Monday, that the Tilak Varma-led side lost a narrow match against the hosts, in the super over — after scoring 265.
Coming back to Ashok Sharma, the 150 kmph speedster showed glimpses of brilliance in IPL 2026 — where he played 6 matches and picked up as many wickets. Though a touch expensive, at an economy of 10.85, he did well enough to at least go to the next level of the A team. Overall in T20s, he has played 16 encounters, picking up 28 wickets.
In one particular match, GT vs LSG on April 12, he returned with figures of 2/32, and picked up the wickets of Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary, and bowled well in tandem with Prasidh Krishna, and generated a lot of pace. For the unversed, Ashok had broken an 11-year-old record in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and finished the tournament with 22 scalps — the most in the year.
Long journey to success for Ashok
Many might not know, but he received his first IPL contract way back in 2022, from KKR, but never played a game there. From there he moved to RR as a net bowler, and was bagged at the mega auction in 2025 by the same team. But then, in a previous interview with TOI, he had revealed, despite not getting his chances, he was clear, that he never wanted to compromise with his speed.
“I never thought about slowing down. I just wanted to maintain my pace and hit the right lengths. In 2022, I spent a lot of time with Pat Cummins,” Ashok had said. “I spoke to him about lengths 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.”
Now, India A play the Afghani counterparts on June 17, and it remains to be seen if Ashok will be a part of the playing XI or not. This also happens to be their last group game, with the final scheduled for June 21.
Cricket
GT's Ashok Sharma picked for ongoing IND A tri-series, comes in as injury replacement
