Ajay Sharma
Encyclopedia
Ajay Kumar Sharma is a retired India
n cricketer.
Sharma was a prolific run-maker in first-class cricket
, mainly for Delhi
, scoring over 10,000 runs at the high average of 67.46. Given a minimum qualification of 50 innings, only three players (Sir Donald Bradman, Vijay Merchant
and George Headley
) have bettered this average in first-class cricket.
In the Ranji Trophy
, Sharma scored a record 31 centuries and his batting average of approximately 80 in this competition is second only to Vijay Merchant. In the 1996-97 season, he became only the third player to score over 1000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season. He played in six Ranji Trophy finals for Delhi scoring centuries in four of them, but only twice ended up on the winning side (1985-86 and 1991-92). Sharma also regularly represented North Zone
in the Duleep Trophy
.
Despite his domestic scoring record, Sharma only played one Test match
for India - against the West Indies in January 1988. He played 31 One Day Internationals for India from 1988 to 1993. In December 1988, he scored back-to-back fifties against New Zealand, but he did not reach those heights again except for a 59 not out (his highest ODI score) against Zimbabwe in March 1993. He finished with 424 runs at a batting average of 20.19. Sharma also took 15 wickets using his left-arm spin with a best of 3/41 against Australia in October 1989.
In 2000, aged 36, his career ended when he received a life ban from cricket after he was implicated in a match-fixing scandal.
Sharma's son Manan Sharma is a left-arm spin bowler currently playing for Delhi and is part of India's Under-19 team.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n cricketer.
Sharma was a prolific run-maker in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
, mainly for Delhi
Delhi cricket team
The Delhi cricket team is one of the first-class cricket teams, that plays in India's domestic competition, the Ranji Trophy. They have won the tournament seven times and have been runners-up seven. Their latest title in 2007-08 came after a long wait of 16 years. The previous win was in the...
, scoring over 10,000 runs at the high average of 67.46. Given a minimum qualification of 50 innings, only three players (Sir Donald Bradman, Vijay Merchant
Vijay Merchant
Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant , real name Vijay Madhavji Thakersey was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first class cricket for Mumbai cricket team as well as 10 Test matches for India between 1929 and 1951...
and George Headley
George Headley
George Alphonso Headley was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before the Second World War. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for West Indies and one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Headley also represented Jamaica and played professional club cricket in...
) have bettered this average in first-class cricket.
In the Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
, Sharma scored a record 31 centuries and his batting average of approximately 80 in this competition is second only to Vijay Merchant. In the 1996-97 season, he became only the third player to score over 1000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season. He played in six Ranji Trophy finals for Delhi scoring centuries in four of them, but only twice ended up on the winning side (1985-86 and 1991-92). Sharma also regularly represented North Zone
North Zone cricket team
The North Zone cricket team is a first-class cricket team that represents northern India in the Duleep Trophy. It is a composite team of players from six first-class Indian teams from northern India competing in the Ranji Trophy: Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and...
in the Duleep Trophy
Duleep Trophy
The Duleep Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India between teams representing geographical zones of India. The competition is named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji .-History:...
.
Despite his domestic scoring record, Sharma only played one Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for India - against the West Indies in January 1988. He played 31 One Day Internationals for India from 1988 to 1993. In December 1988, he scored back-to-back fifties against New Zealand, but he did not reach those heights again except for a 59 not out (his highest ODI score) against Zimbabwe in March 1993. He finished with 424 runs at a batting average of 20.19. Sharma also took 15 wickets using his left-arm spin with a best of 3/41 against Australia in October 1989.
In 2000, aged 36, his career ended when he received a life ban from cricket after he was implicated in a match-fixing scandal.
Sharma's son Manan Sharma is a left-arm spin bowler currently playing for Delhi and is part of India's Under-19 team.