The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) leg-spinner has revealed that he was suffering from multiple hernias ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
The 21-year-old gave credit to the franchise for supporting him through the illness which included sending him to London for surgery and helping him recover sooner.
“We were practicing in February, and for two years, I had something going on for me. I played after taking injections. Within India, we weren’t even able to identify the problem that I was facing. [So] RCB sent me to London for surgery. I met James Pipe [RCB’s physio] there. He and his family treated me like their family,” said Suyash Sharma.
“I had a hernia in three different places. Honestly, I had little hope of playing the first match [this season]. I had had a big surgery, and was told that I would be playing only after three or four games. But Pipey and his family took great care of me. I am thankful that I came to this franchise; I became fully fit. Before that, I had been suffering from the pain for the last two years. I was used to playing in pain,” he added.
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The leggie previously represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the past two seasons, and opened up about the challenges that he faced before entering the professional world of cricket. He admitted that RCB supported him a lot and helped him to recover.
“If you’re playing for India or a franchise, then you can still manage [to get help]. But I had this injury when I wasn’t even playing [for any team]. At that time, I wasn’t aware of anything; I just went to a physio, who told me something entirely different – so that made it difficult. RCB showed a lot of faith in me, and invested so much in me,” he added.
The Bhajanpura-born spinner has struggled to make an impact this season and has picked up only four wickets at an average of 69.75. RCB remains in the playoff hunt by securing 14 points so far. The next challenge for the Royal Challengers will be against the first team to be eliminated from IPL 2025, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the game will be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 3.
