Haryana’s new No. 3 Yashu Sharma keen to make up for lost time

Yashu Sharma took the 2019-20 CK Nayudu (Under-23) Trophy storm. His 777 runs at 155.40 in eight innings (7 matches), including three centuries, helped him break into the Haryana senior team.
Last week, the 23-year-old left-hander scored his maiden first-class century against Tripura in the Ranji Trophy. The Rohtak lad’s 129 came in only his second first-class game.
“I made my Ranji debut against Jammu and Kashmir in 2019-20. It was the last game of our season. Just getting into the senior team was amazing. I was looking forward to the next season, and then the pandemic (Covid-19) took over,” Sharma told The Indian Express on the eve of Haryana’s clash against Punjab.
For a promising youngster like Yashu, who wanted to make his mark in first-class cricket, the Covid-19 outbreak came as a big setback. But even when everything was shut down, he didn’t miss a single day of training, courtesy his coach Ashwani Kumar, who runs the Shri Ram Narain Cricket Club Academy in Rohtak. However, Yashu was fighting the demons of uncertainty and anxiety.
“Ashwani sir and our association (HCA) were in regular touch with all the cricketers. Once the lockdown lifted, we even started playing cricket, but something was missing, and I didn’t know what it was,” said Haryana’s new No. 3 batsman.

Enter Haryana skipper Harshal Patel, who himself has had an eventful journey, one laden with rejection and dejection, doubts and setbacks, but from one which he has emerged stronger. Patel, now an India regular in T20Is, endured the anonymity of the domestic circuit before getting India colours.
“It was during the Vijay Hazare camp last year that I had a chat with Harshal bhaiyya. He told me this is quite natural, and it took him almost 10 years to overcome the anxiety,” said Sharma.

Patel’s advice to Sharma was, “You should never forget why you started playing cricket in the first place. There was no ambition; you started playing because you enjoyed the game. Stop thinking about the results; enjoy the process.”
“You should be willing to struggle, toil, and fail over and over again. When you fail, you will be rejected everyone around; people will start doubting you. You will start doubting your own potential. So, if you can’t deal with all these things, you can’t be in a professional sport,” Sharma narrates the conversation he had with the Haryana skipper.
“Ashwani sir also helped me a lot during that phase. He is immensely supportive, a livewire and always a call away,” he said.
Red is the colour
Sharma followed Patel’s advice down to the last letter and started training for the Ranji Trophy, even though there was uncertainty surrounding the tournament.
Unlike many youngsters, who are more eager to bag an Indian Premier League contract, Sharma is a red-ball fanatic and would never miss a Test match.
“Test cricket is sheer joy. My father (Raj Kumar Sharma) and I used to wake up early in the morning whenever India was touring either Australia or New Zealand. This is where the love for the red ball started for me,” he recollected.
Entrusted with the key role of one-drop batsman, Sharma said he enjoys the responsibility as he has been batting at this position since his U-14 days.

“Batting at three is a two-way sword. It is quite natural that all the No. 3 batters in red-ball cricket will be a bit shaky at the start of their innings, but once they are set, it is difficult to get them out,” he said.
“In white-ball cricket, I can go on the attack from the start, but in the longer format, you will have to put a price on your wicket. Give the first hour to the bowlers; the entire day will be yours,” he added.