'It was heartbreaking to see what was happening to me...' - Ashutosh Sharma blames KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit for spoiling his career

In the 17th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ashutosh Sharma played a brilliant match-winning knock of 31 runs off 17 balls along with Shashank Singh's 69 runs off 29 balls. However, after Sharma's knock, an old video of his interview went viral where he was criticising Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) coach Chandrakant Pandit. As per the batter, Pandit dropped him from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for three seasons.

"I scored 84 runs in my last innings for MP against Pondicheery. But Mr. Pandit had his ways of functioning. He didn’t want me in the squad for any format. It was a tough moment for me,” Sharma told the Hindustan Times. It was heartbreaking to see what was happening to me. My childhood coach, Bhupen Chauhan, backed me, but he passed away last season before I started playing for the Railways. He knew I would return," was quoted as saying to the Hindustan Times. 

Singh made such remarks when Pandit became the head coach of MP in domestic leagues. Moreover, this isn't the first time the coach has heard such criticism from any player. Previously the former KKR player David Weise also complained regarding his behaviour and labelled him a militant coach.  

"I was normal and kept believing that I can do it..."- Ashutosh Sharma after winning the match

The innings of Ashutosh Sharma was nothing short of a miracle for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) as they managed to beat the mighty Gujarat Titans in their own backyard. While chasing 199 runs at the Narendra Modi stadium, Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh made sure that they stayed calm and won the match for their team. Moreover, post the match, Sharma spoke about the support he got from the team and the captain, Shikhar Dhawan.

"Shikhar paaji believed in me so much. I was normal and kept believing that I can do it. To Sanjay sir I will thank him so much and he believed in me. He told me a lot of good things. I was normal and believed that I can do it because I have won games for my home team," said Ashutosh Sharma at the post-match presentation.