The Curious Case of HS Sharath: Yet another 'what-could-have-been' story

Cricket has seen a lot of childhood prodigies failing to fulfill their potential at the highest level. While a few have at least tasted success at the first-class level, many have just vanished after their junior cricket days. Karnataka fast bowler HS Sharath's career is one curious case where despite a promising start and a fruitful couple of years in the domestic circuit, his career inexplicably faded away.

A mofussil cricketer who briefly landed in the spotlight

Born in Mandya, a second-tier city in Karnataka, in 1993, Sharath didn't waste much time once the cricket bug bit him. Having tasted success at the junior level, he duly moved to the capital city of Bengaluru to realize his cricketing dreams in his mid-teens.

Being a student at Jain College helped him grow as a cricketer. Back then, the reputed college's cricket team was one of the strongest, and also a factory that supplied cricketers aplenty to the Karnataka state ecosystem.

Sharath, already a burly young man in his teens, honed his bowling skills while still in college and was making the right noises in the state's cricketing circles. At well over 6 feet tall, he used his height to good effect, extracting bounce on all kinds of surfaces.

In addition to this, his knack of swinging the ball both ways at a decent pace made him look lethal in division cricket. Bucketfuls of wickets year after year catapulted the right-arm seamer to the Karnataka Ranji side.

Sharath impressed in the first-class game from the word go

Young Sharath with former Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar

Back in the 2012-13 season, the absence of Karnataka's famous pace trio gave the 19-year-old Sharath his first Ranji cap; and he didn't disappoint one bit. His (5/67) in the first innings of his debut at Meerut against UP understandably gave Karnataka a lot of hope for the future. The way he bowled with genuine pace and swing — troubling even the likes of Mohammed Kaif and Suresh Raina was a sight to behold.

Eventually, in the seven games that season, Sharath ended with 24 wickets — the most by a Karnataka bowler. This was some record for a debutant. From there, he went from strength to strength —adding a few more tricks to his arsenal and becoming a finished product that was ready to take on the world.

In the 2013/14 season where Karnataka ended up as champions, saw Sharath hit his purple patch. He picked up 32 wickets in seven games with two five-wicket hauls, at a miserly average of 19 and a strike-rate of 42.

Also, his match figures of (5/57 and 3/12), against Mumbai in Bengaluru, gave Karnataka its first ever outright win against their arch rivals. By virtue of this performance, Sharath's name was immortalized in the annals of Karnataka cricket.

He had impressed one and all during the side's successful campaign with his versatile bowling. So much so that the likes of Vivek Razdan and VB Chandrasekhar, who were on commentary duty, suggested on air that Sharath might as well play for India.

Karnataka's coach J Arun Kumar dubbed him a warhorse — for the energy he brought into the team. Garnering such great attention from all quarters while bowling in tandem with international bowlers like Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun, spoke volumes about Sharath's body of work. Subsequently, he was snapped up by the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, but unfortunately he could not get a game.

Incessant injuries and inevitable downfall

After a fruitful 2013/14, Sharath's career was battered by injuries that gave Sreenath Arvind an opportunity to stake a claim for the third seamer spot. The experienced Arvind didn't let the opportunity go, meaning Sharath spent most of the 2014/15 season warming the benches. Sharath played only two games in the season which saw Karnataka lift their eighth Ranji title.

In 2015/16 though, Sharath played a few games sporadically, making the news with a hat-trick against Haryana in Mysuru. His 5 for 48 in that very innings yet again reiterated what this lanky seamer was capable of. But as luck would have it, he injured himself once again and had to sit out for a few games.

After returning, he played two more games that season and picked up a few wickets. But after Karnataka lost to Maharashtra in their last league game and crashed out of the competition, Sharath too was forgotten forever.

The axing, despite some decent bowling returns that season, was inexplicable. And that was it. At the time, no one thought Sharath would play his last game for Karnataka at the age of 22.

It's been well over seven years since that fateful season, and Sharath hasn't even been named once in the Karnataka squad. He's been off the selectors' radar and the chances of a comeback look pretty slim.

The man, who was once bowling in late 130s and swinging it profusely, was found bowling at military medium pace in the KPL a few years ago. It wasn't the most glorious of sights and at the same time it also served as further evidence that Sharath's time with the Karnataka side may well be done.

Now aged 30, Sharath, having lost most of his bowling traits, may never play a game. The career that promised so much in its nascent stages ended up being a damp squib.

It's really unfortunate for both Karnataka and Sharath himself. But the moot question remains unanswered: could Sharath have resurrrected his career with a proper mentor and communication?

Sharath, as of now, has played a total of 28 first-class games and picked up 86 wickets at a healthy average of 25 with four 5-wicket hauls. Despite such impressive numbers, Sharath's fall from grace can definitely be a great case study for youngsters coming through the system. It's true that talent alone cannot solve all your problems. Sharath's is a poignant story that will definitely make you search for answers.