Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel praised young pacer Ashok Sharma for his pace and intelligence. He also defended the team's middle-order, saying their limited opportunities are due to the top order's strong performances.
'Ashok Sharma is an exciting talent'
Gujarat Titans (GT) assistant coach Parthiv Patel has lauded young pacer Ashok Sharma, describing him as an "exciting talent" ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday. Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Sunday, Patel highlighted Sharma's raw pace, consistency, and ability to read the game, saying the youngster has already impressed the team management with his performances in domestic cricket. "Ashok Sharma is definitely an exciting talent. We saw him during Syed Mushtaq Ali here in Ahmedabad, and he's someone who has pace, and someone who can consistently bowl over 145, 150, and with that he has a lot of variations also, and he is a smart bowler," Patel said.
He further underlined Sharma's maturity and game awareness, noting that the pacer is not just reliant on speed but also adapts according to match situations. "It's not something that he just doesn't want to bowl fast, fast and fast. He understands the game; he reads the game really well. So yeah, he is an exciting talent, and we are very fortunate to have a youngster who can clock around 145, 150 consistently," he added.
Patel backs GT's middle-order
Parthiv also backed his side's middle-order batters, stating that their limited opportunities are a result of the top order spending more time at the crease and anchoring the innings in IPL 2026. Speaking ahead of their upcoming fixture against Mumbai on Monday, the GT's assistant coach explained that the roles within the batting lineup are clearly defined, and compared current situations with past match-winning contributions from the middle order. "The top three are spending a lot of time in the middle, so [the middle-order batters] are not getting enough balls anyway. Their role is completely different. If you can jog your memory back to last year, when he hit 10 off [the last] over against Delhi, when Tewatia came in and hit a six off a reversing ball of Mitchell Starc. He has done the job. Yesterday, even Shahrukh did not stay out [against Kolkata Knight Riders], and obviously finished the job," Patel said.
He further stressed that judging batters purely on volume of runs would be unfair given differing match situations across the batting order. "So whatever deliveries they can get, they are doing the job. If you're trying to compare the number of runs and the situation [between the top and middle order], it's not going to be equal for any team," he added. (ANI)
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