Ex-PBKS seamer reveals Preity Zinta’s 'sweet gesture' after he dismissed Virat Kohli, ABD and Gayle: 'She told Shastri…'

Pacer Sandeep Sharma walked down memory lane to recall a gesture from his former IPL franchise co-owner, Preity Zinta, during IPL 2017, which helped him land a Player of the Match award. Sandeep made his IPL debut with Punjab Kings in IPL 2013 and spent five years at the franchise in his first stint; meanwhile, his final season there is still his best so far. He claimed 17 scalps in the 2017 edition at an economy of 8.29. However, he was released by the franchise before IPL 2018 and signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Meanwhile, he rejoined Punjab in IPL 2022 for a year.

Sandeep Sharma opens up on Preity Zinta’s gesture after RCB clash in IPL 2017(Instagram Image/@thesandeepsharma)

Sandeep recalled the clash against RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where he dismissed Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle. Although Axar Patel was first named Player of the Match in Punjab’s victory, a conversation between the team’s co-owner and Ravi Shastri led to a late change, handing the award to the pacer.

"We were playing a match in Bengaluru against RCB. And I had taken three wickets with the new ball. Virat, ABD and Chris Gayle. So in that match, actually, the Player of the Match was supposed to be Axar Patel, who had also taken two wickets in that match and it was a low-scoring game. In the last over, he had scored 25 runs [19 runs] and scored 38 runs [in total]. But the Player of the Match was his, if you look at it. So Preity ma'am was there and she told Ravi Shastri there that the Player of the Match should be Sandy, he has picked three big wickets," he said on Crictracker.

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"Axar Patel told me that…'

Sandeep revealed that he handed the award to Axar, but the left-arm all-rounder pointed out that those wickets were vital in defending 138 runs, cementing the seamer's impact in the contest.

"And actually, they gave me the Player of the Match. That was one sweet thing. And I actually went and offered it to Axar. But, he told me that these three wickets were very important. Otherwise, 138 runs wouldn’t have been defended anywhere," he added.

The right-arm pacer was retained by the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. He featured in 10 matches last season, claiming 9 wickets before a finger fracture ruled him out mid-season