Himachal Pradesh pacer Sidharth Sharma passes away at 28

In a piece of tragic news, Himachal Pradesh (HP) fast bowler Sidharth Sharma passed away on Thursday, January 12, at the age of 28. He was part of the HP squad in Gujarat for the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2022-23.

The exact cause of his death is unknown, but according to reports, he was on life support in a Vadodara hospital last week after falling sick.

Siddharth claimed a five-wicket haul in his last Ranji Trophy appearance against Bengal in December 2022 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Although the match ended in a draw, the fast bowler was among the team’s star performers. He picked up 5/69 in the first innings and 2/53 in his second.

Before that, he had registered figures of 3/12 and 2/43 in Himachal Pradesh’s innings and 88 run-win over Haryana in Rohtak.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh expressed grief at the cricketer’s untimely demise. A tweet from CMO Himachal read:

"Chief Minister Shri @Sukhusukhvinder has expressed deep condolences on the demise of Sidharth Sharma, the star fast bowler of the state who was a member of the Vijay Hazare Trophy-winning cricket team of Himachal. The Chief Minister expresses his deep condolences to the bereaved family members."

Siddharth was cremated at Bhabhor Saheb crematorium on Friday, January 13.

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Sidharth Sharma was part of Himachal Pradesh’s maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph in 2021

The 28-year-old was part of the Himachal Pradesh team squad that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time in 2021. Sidharth picked up five wickets in the domestic T20 tournament and dismissed Tamil Nadu centurion Dinesh Karthik (116 off 103) in the final in Jaipur. The pacer ended with impressive figures of 1/34.

Chasing a revised target of 289, HP went on to win the summit clash of the Vijay Hazare Trophy by 11 runs (VJD) method.

Sidharth made his first-class debut against Bengal at Eden Gardens in November 2017. He featured in six first-class matches, claiming 25 wickets at an average of 22.20, with one five-wicket haul.

He made his List A debut against UP in Jaipur in December 2021. In six List-A games, he picked up eight wickets at an average of 27.75.

The pacer only featured in one T20 match, which came against Mumbai in Kolkata in November 2022. He registered figures of 0/26 in four overs as Himachal went down in the game by three wickets.