Rahul Sharma (born 20 July 1987) is an Indian

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. He is primarily a right-handed legbreak and googly bowler. He has been a member of the Punjab cricket team since 2006. He came into the limelight due to his impressive bowling performances in IPL 2011 for

Pune Warriors Pune Warriors India were a franchise Twenty20 cricket team that represented the city of Pune in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of two IPL franchises from the Indian state of Maharashtra, the other being Mumbai Indians. It was ...

Early career

Rahul started as a medium pacer but soon turned to leg spin on his coach. He made his debut in first class cricket on 25 December 2006 for

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

against Rajasthan, but had to wait till 2009 to play again. In 2009–10 season of the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

, he took 13 wickets in seven first class games. Rahul played only one Ranji match in the 2010–11 season.

Indian Premier League

In 2010, Rahul Sharma made his IPL debut for

Deccan Chargers The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

. He took just five wickets and went at 8.08 an over in the six matches he played for

. In the 2011 IPL, Rahul Sharma made a name for himself with some good bowling performances for

. His figures of 4-0-7-2 against

Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...

were the most economical of

2011 Indian Premier League The 2011 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 4 or the IPL 2011, was the fourth season of the Indian Premier League, the top Twenty20 cricket league in India. The tournament was hosted in India and the opening and closing ceremonies ...

and the performance created enough of a buzz to see his name trend on Twitter in India. In 2015 rahul sharma was bought by Chennai Super kings in the ipl8 auction.

International career

On 8 December 2011, Rahul made his ODI debut for India in the 4th ODI against the West Indies and took three wickets. All three batsmen were bowled. In the same match Virender Sehwag set a new record(219) for the highest score in ODIs.
Rahul scored his first run in One Day Internationals against Australia at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

on 5 February 2012. He scored 1 run off 2 balls before being bowled by

Xavier Doherty Xavier John Doherty (born 22 November 1982) is a former Australian international cricketer who played Australian domestic cricket with Tasmania and internationally for Australia. He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left arm orthodox bowler ...

.
On 1 February 2012, Rahul made his

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

International debut for India in the 1st T20 of the series against Australia at the

Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...

/Sydney Olympic Park currently known as

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...

. He injured his finger while bowling his first over but came back later to continue bowling. His first

International wicket was that of

David Hussey David John Hussey (born 15 July 1977) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. Hussey is a right-handed batter and can also bowl right-arm off breaks. He is the younger brother of former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey. He was ...

who was bowled clean.

Bell's Palsy

Rahul Sharma had suffered from a form of facial paralysis called

Bell's Palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary fr ...

a few days before the beginning of the IPL 2010 series.

Controversies

Rahul Sharma was caught along with

Wayne Parnell Wayne Dillon Parnell (born 30 July 1989) is a South African professional cricketer who most recently played for Northamptonshire in English county cricket. Previously, Parnell played Test cricket, One Day International cricket and Twenty20 matc ...

after he tested positive for consumption of drugs in a rave party. He later said he had no clue about the rave party and had gone there to attend a birthday celebration.

References

External links

Rahul Sharma - Wisden India Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Rahul Indian cricketers India Twenty20 International cricketers India One Day International cricketers North Zone cricketers India Red cricketers Punjab, India cricketers Deccan Chargers cricketers Pune Warriors India cricketers 1986 births Living people Cricketers from Jalandhar Chennai Super Kings cricketers