table of contents
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) youngster Karthik Sharma is proving why the five-time champions spent a hefty sum of ₹14.2 crore on him in the IPL 2026 mini-auction last year. Karthik Sharma played another impressive innings in the ongoing IPL 2026 and caught everyone’s attention with the maturity he showed under pressure against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 15.
CSK were in big trouble during the IPL 2026 match after losing early wickets against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
CSK’s young player Karthik Sharma scored a fearless half-century against LSG in the IPL 2026 match.
When Karthik Sharma came to bat against LSG in the sixth over, Chennai Super Kings were struggling at 36/2. Soon after, Urvil Patel was also out on the bowling of Akash Singh for just 6 runs, due to which the entire batting lineup of Lucknow came under immense pressure.
Also read: Indian team for Afghanistan series will be officially announced on this date
But Karthik did not let the pressure overwhelm him; Instead, he played with patience. At one time Karthik was batting slowly after scoring 29 runs on 26 balls. But once he settled down, the CSK star shifted gears and started attacking the LSG bowlers fearlessly.
The young batsman scored his next 42 runs in just 16 balls. Karthik played a brilliant inning of 71 runs in 42 balls with the help of six sixes and five fours, helping CSK post 187/5 on the board in 20 overs against LSG. Later the host team achieved the target with 7 wickets in 17 overs.
Ambati Rayudu impressed with Karthik Sharma’s anchoring and attacking ability
Meanwhile, former Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu was really impressed with how the 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman handled the situation and changed his game as per the team’s needs, which showed that he can control the innings and also attack when needed.
Rayudu was extremely impressed with Karthik’s preparation, especially against short-pitched bowling and spin. The former CSK batsman feels that this youngster can be a complete middle-order batsman suited to Indian conditions in the future.
“I think it has been extraordinary. I think he was prepared to bowl a lot of short deliveries against a team that has good fast bowlers, which shows his preparation has been on point. His game against spin has also been quite extraordinary in reading the length. I think he is becoming a complete middle-order batsman; especially for the home conditions in India, he is looking very, very good,” Ambati Rayudu said at the ESPNcricinfo timeout.
Also read: Former BCCI selector brutally attacks Ruturaj Gaikwad, calls him ‘ordinary cricketer’
Ambati Rayudu defends Karthik Sharma on strike rate criticism
He has so far scored 244 runs in nine matches at an average of 34.85 and a strike rate of 134.06 for the five-time IPL champions. Many have raised questions on his strike rate, which is much lower than other young players in the current IPL 2026 and what should be in this modern era.
But the former MI star doesn’t think it’s an issue as this is Karthik’s first IPL season, while he praised his calm mindset and ability to learn quickly under pressure.
Rayudu further praised the CSK star, saying, “He can hit sixes against both fast bowlers and spinners. His batting will improve with time with confidence and experience. He will get to know his single option or double option on a certain pitch. Once he starts getting into those nuances, I think the strike rate will also improve.”
He concluded by saying, “I think his progression has been very rapid, and he’s looking good. He learns fast. He’s learning on the job, poor guy – he’s batted at No. 6 and No. 7 for the first half of the IPL. It’s not an easy number. But since he’s come in at No. 4 or No. 5, he’s batting exceptionally well.”
