Ashutosh Sharma: ‘Selectors said ‘he can’t bat’, were unwilling to pick him’: Railways coach Nikhil Doru recalls Ashutosh Sharma’s struggle | Cricket News

Delhi Capitals’ batter Ashutosh Sharma (PTI Photo)

Delhi Capitals (DC) batter Ashutosh Sharma is currently the talk of the town following an unbeaten 66 off 31 balls, which helped his team pull off a 1-wicket win in their IPL 2025 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). DC managed to chase down a target of 210 after being reduced to 65/5 in 6.4 overs due to Ashutosh’s composed knock under pressure.
The 26-year-old batter showcased mental strength of the highest order, pulling off a win against the odds. However, this certainly wasn’t the first time where Ashutosh displayed his calibre, as evident from an anecdote shared by Railways head coach Nikhil Doru regarding the batter’s Ranji Trophy debut against Gujarat in January 2024.
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“The selectors were completely unwilling to pick him in Railways’ squad for the Ranji Trophy. They said, ‘Ashutosh doesn’t know how to bat. He can only hit big shots’. I kept pushing for his selection terming him a necessity considering his ability to emerge as a game-changer. Ashutosh wasn’t picked in the squad for the first three to four matches. However, he eventually got picked for the game against Gujarat, being fully aware that he would be definitely dropped in case of a failure as the selectors were still strongly against him,” said Doru in an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.

“The odds were against Ashutosh as the match was being played at Valsad where Gujarat had an edge with the conditions quite bowler-friendly. There was also some controversy around the Railways lineup for the match as two different team sheets had been presented during the toss. One included Ashutosh’s name while the other didn’t. Due to this confusion, I had to send a bowler Karn Sharma out to bat before Ashutosh when we were 135/5 during our first innings, as we had to obtain permission from the BCCI regarding Ashutosh featuring in the match. It took 15-20 minutes to obtain permission. I was scared during that period of time as Ashutosh wouldn’t have been able to do much in case we were eight wickets down,” he added.
The 26-year-old batter eventually walked out to bat following Karn’s dismissal with the team’s score reading 145/6.
“Before Ashutosh walked out to bat, I told Gujarat spinner Ravi Bishnoi that our batting has just started. He laughed and said, ‘What are you saying?’. Despite having only bowlers for company, Ashutosh managed to help us score 313, smashing 123 off 84 balls in a knock comprising 12 fours and eight sixes. It boosted our morale massively as we had fully expected to get bowled out for 200. We eventually won that match by 184 runs,” stated Doru.

Ashutosh also holds the record for scoring the fastest fifty by an Indian in T20 cricket. The 26-year-old batter reached the milestone in just 11 balls during Railways’ Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) match against Arunachal Pradesh in October 2023.
“Batters usually look to stabilise after losing a wicket. Ashutosh simply backed himself and smashed sixes for fun. Following his knock, he told me, ‘I went for my shots because I knew you wouldn’t scold me’. Many coaches don’t like someone who doesn’t listen to them and does what he likes but Ashutosh simply follows his heart,” said Doru.
“Ashutosh is a big believer in visualisation. He focuses on visualising success and glory, then goes about executing it in the best possible manner. Ashutosh told me that he has visualised winning the IPL with DC this season,” he stated.