Some of the stories that give us more than runs and wickets are found in cricket. One of such stories is Kartik Sharma. This 19 year old player of Bharatpur Rajasthan has slept hungry at night shelters when the tournaments took place, and has witnessed his parents sell everything that they had so that he could carry on with playing cricketing. It is the same boy who had nothing but a dream in the past and now he has become one of the biggest names in Indian cricket today.
Early Life and Education
Kartik Sharma was born in Bharatpur, Rajasthan on 26 th April 2006. His father, Manoj Sharma, was once a medium-pace bowler who lost his career by a severe shoulder injury. However, Manoj provided all that he was unable to get to his children.
Kartik developed talent and Manoj sent him to Agra to study under the academy at Lokendra Singh Chahar who is the father of Deepak Chahar. He has completed Class 12 in 2025 and wants to continue his education while pursuing cricket.
READ: Personality of the Day: Prithvi Shaw
Sacrifices for the Dream
Kartik had to be trained, travel and equipped and so Manoj and his wife Radha had to determine the things that the parents should never do. They sold their plots and farmland at Bahnera village. Radha sold her personal jewellery. Manoj borrowed approximately 26 to 28 lakh.
One of the pivotal moments in their lives was one that took place at Gwalior. Manoj had calculated not above four or five matches. But Kartik still scored and the team still won till the end. The money ran out. Father and son spent a night in a shelter and went to sleep without eating. It was not until the team won the final that they went home after getting the prize money.
READ| Personality of the Day: Virat Kohli
Kartik Sharma Cricket Career
Kartik did not come into the picture easily. He had represented Rajasthan in the Under-14 and Under-16 level but he was not picked for other higher teams during the next 4 years. He continued to train and play local matches on a daily basis instead of giving up.
His opportunity came by accident. During one of the local tournaments, the team in Jaipur was short of one player and called him in. Kartik only used 20 balls to reach 60 runs. One of the co-owners of the Aravali Cricket Club Vikas Yadav was available and he immediately offered him a free position in his academy. Kartik shifted to Jaipur when he was 14 years old and emerged the best batter in the Aravali Premier League.
He was later called to be in the Under-19 team of Rajasthan where he was the captain and scored a double century in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. His debut senior game was in November 2025 and he scored his one-hundred on debut in Ranji Trophy with Uttarakhand with 113 runs.
During eight matches in the first class, Kartik has got 479 runs and three centuries with an average of more than 43. He has scored 445 runs and two centuries and two half-centuries at an average of 55.62 in nine List A matches. In 12 T20 matches he had 334 runs and his strike rate was around 163 and had 28 sixes. In the state of Rajasthan, he was made the best six-hitter in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
ESPN mentions: “Kartik was the joint-highest six-hitter in the first phase of the 2025-26 Ranji season and the highest six-hitter in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. After training with CSK's wider squad during IPL 2025, he broke into their main side for IPL 2026.”
Breakthrough and Success
Kartik played his first IPL against Rajasthan Royals. He entered at the sixth position with CSK at 19 at 3 making 18 runs on 15 balls. He was sold to the team for a whopping 14.2 crores and will continue to show his skills throughout the tournament.
The price of 14.20 crore is not just an amount spent by Chennai Super Kings on a cricketer. It is the market that is catching up to compensate for all the sacrifices he made during these years.
READ| Personality of the Day: Sachin Tendulkar
For more sports related information, head over to Jagran Josh.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation