Geopolitics, diplomatic drama and a race against time across two continents… the inside story on Ashutosh Sharma’s journey from the IPL to Wigan

Delhi Capitals batter Ashutosh Sharma

Packed with enough tension and drama to fill a Netflix 10-parter, the saga of Ashutosh Sharma’s journey to Wigan will go down in Love Lane Liverpool Competition folklore.

But for his new club, the most exciting part of the story is that it’s just getting started.

Sharma has been one of the breakout stars of the Indian Premier League over the past two years, commanding a fee of more than £300,000 when he joined the Delhi Capitals for this season.

He made 204 runs in nine innings against some of the world’s best short-form bowlers, hitting at a strike rate of 160, or 9.6 an over.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Indian superstar began life at Wigan with a 72-ball century at Formby, or that this achievement made headlines across the world.

“It’s probably the first time Wigan CC has been mentioned in the Hindustan Times,” laughs Wigan cricket chairman Mark Rowe.

But arguably the century was the most straightforward part of the journey.

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Wigan had started the season with Shubham Khajuria as their overseas pro. On the field, everything was great – his 271 runs at 67.65 included 139 in a one-wicket win at Rainhill.

But off it, family matters and geopolitics were colliding. Khajuria plays for Jammu and Kashmir in India, in the region where tensions recently flared at the Pakistan border – with his pregnant wife at home, he could not stay in England.

Wigan had agreed a deal to sign Sharma as a replacement. The IPL was due to finish on May 25 but the Kashmir crisis caused it to be suspended, and the received wisdom was it could not be restarted until September, owing to players’ other commitments.

But soon after the contract was signed, the news broke that the tournament would pick up where it left off, delayed by just over a week.

This left Wigan in a dilemma. Comp rules require overseas professionals to be registered by the end of May – and for registration to be complete, they have to have played a game.

Had Delhi qualified for the play-off rounds, the Sharma deal would have been unviable as he would still have been playing for them after the Comp’s deadline. They missed out by one point.

Rowe recalls: “It wasn’t that we wanted Delhi to lose… But let’s just say people at the club were a bit more invested in the IPL than usual.

“When they didn’t make the play-offs, Ashutosh was free to come over.”

Mark Rowe

Steve Hirst

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Sharma instructed an agent to sort out his visa, so he could be in England in time for last Saturday, May 31. 

But the agent ticked the wrong box and applied for a holiday visa instead of a working one.

Frustrated, Sharma then travelled to Mumbai and paid around £1,000 himself for an expedited visa application. He was told it would be ready on Friday, May 30, leaving precious little room for manoeuvre. 

“We knew he would get it but we weren’t sure what time,” says Rowe. 

The visa came through, Sharma hopped on an overnight flight and Rowe picked him up from Manchester airport at 7.30am on Saturday, with just hours to spare.

Wigan rolled the dice – and came up with a six. Six of them, in fact, and eight fours, with plenty more to come.

Steven Hirst, managing director at cricket agency CricX, was instrumental in getting the deal over the line.

“It was a delicate one for a long time,” he says.

“We just did not know if he was going to get the visa but they took the gamble that he would, and it worked out. 

“There was only a couple of flights left by the time he got the visa that would get him here on Saturday, so it was a proper punt, but it turned out well. 

“Now Ashutosh should be here for the rest of the season.

“As it’s panned out it’s been great for Wigan, and I think there’s going to be a few more performances like Saturday’s.”

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Everyone at Wigan is certainly hoping so. Rowe says he knew they were getting a quality player, but didn’t quite realise the stardust he was bringing with him.

“I don’t follow the IPL that much, we follow the Ranji Trophy stats,” he says.

“A lot of people at the club didn’t know how big Ashutosh’s profile really is. 

“But we’ve got quite a lot of Indian players at the club who follow the IPL closely, and I was getting messages saying ‘are we really signing Ashutosh Sharma’… it’s given everyone a lift.

“There’s definitely a buzz around the club.”

In his role at CricX, Hirst looks after professional cricketers like Sharma who want a deal during their home country’s off-season.

And he says Sharma is not alone in having wanted to come to England after the IPL.

He says: “We’ve had probably half a dozen IPL players that want to come over, kind of hoping for a player to fall through here. 

“But there’s no guarantee at this stage and the majority of clubs have already got their pros. 

“It would be such a risk for a club to sign a player who they know is going to miss the first few weeks of the season, and it would put such a strain on the club to go into the season without a pro. 

“By the time that person comes over, they could be languishing at the bottom of the table.

“A lot of leagues have fallen in line with the Comp, in that they have to have played by the end of May, not just being registered. 

“There’s a few leagues that are a bit looser, but it’s a small pool of clubs that could take IPL guys into June.”

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There are plenty of good reasons for Sharma choosing Wigan and the Comp.

The league’s reputation for high-quality cricket on good pitches has spread far and wide, and the 26-year-old – so far seen as a white ball specialist – wants to earn a spot in the Railways line-up for the Ranji Trophy.

Hirst adds: “He’s an incredibly motivated character. 

“He showed his cards when he paid for the visa himself, and he stressed how important it was that he come over and play club cricket. You just don’t get that nowadays. 

“He wants to play as much red ball cricket as possible. 

“He’s only played eight first class games which is remarkable considering his talent. You get pigeonholed early on as a white ball player and it’s hard to overcome that, irrespective of how good you are. 

“Because he’s done so well in the IPL, he’s an established player now.

“Playing club cricket, he’s on a pittance compared to what he was on in the IPL, and that shows his motivation. 

“His target is to play more red ball cricket over there and he sees playing the club stuff over here as a way to get into that.

“The Comp is known as one of the stronger competitions and that was one of the big selling points to Ashutosh initially.”

Rowe agrees. “He doesn’t need any of our small change financially, but he’s really committed and loves to play cricket.

“Without the quality of the Comp, I don’t think Ashutosh would be playing for us. 

“Shubham said it was the best standard he’s played in club cricket by miles, not just the players but the pitches as well, and he was passing that on to Ashutosh.”

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After the drama of Sharma’s journey, and his explosive debut, the weather forecast suggests he may be in for a different kind of experience on Saturday, when Wigan are due to host Wallasey.

But whether he gets out on the pitch at Bull Hey or not, the important thing for all concerned is that he’s here.

“It was some rush at the end but we did what we did to get it over the line,” says Hirst.

And Rowe adds: “Let’s hope it’s a really good season of sunshine and good cricket. 

“He’s an X-factor player – I think it will be quite entertaining to watch.”

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/RFYe734