At 19, Ashutosh Sharma had registered for the city-based Union Sporting in 2018 but couldn’t play. Back then, little did one know he would become such hot property in the IPL.

Seven years since then, quite a few things have changed. So has Ashutosh.

From being a wicketkeeper-batsman during his U-16 days, the 26-year-old is essentially a batsman now. Breaking Yuvraj Singh’s record for the fastest fifty by an Indian in T20 cricket — with an 11-ball half-century in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy game against Arunachal Pradesh — went a long way in earning him a maiden IPL berth at Punjab Kings at his base price of ₹20 lakh.

Impressing in his debut IPL last year with counterattacking knocks batting in the middle order, Ashutosh followed it up with a better domestic season for Railways, especially in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Then came the big one. An incredible innings — unbeaten 66 off 31 balls — as an Impact Player that snatched victory for his new franchise, Delhi Capitals (who roped him in at a price of ₹3.80 crore) from the clutches of defeat against Lucknow Super Giants in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

It looked all over for the Capitals when they were six down for 113 in the 13th over, with as many as 97 needed to win off just 45 balls. But Ashutosh had other plans.

Before the start of the 2024-25 domestic season, finishing the game was one of his main areas for improvement, something Ashutosh also spoke about after his match-winning innings against the Super Giants. “I missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season.

“The whole year, I focused on it and visualised it as well. I had the belief that if I play till the final over, anything can happen,” Ashutosh said at the news conference later.

Nikhil Doru, Railways’ head coach last season, further revealed Ashustosh’s preparation.

“I had a conversation with Ashutosh regarding finishing the game. I told him, ‘If you have to play for India, you have to play the finisher’s role well.’ Since then, he has worked on it, and the result is there for all to see.

“Since then, he has worked on his mental strength, and importantly, he’s showing a little more patience at the crease, especially when he has just arrived. He did so yesterday (Monday) also,” Doru told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

“He’s using the depth of the crease too, which is helping him in gauging the bowler’s length. These aspects have made him sharper,” Doru explained.

“Very much against the wish” of the coach, the selectors dropped Ashutosh from Railways’ Ranji Trophy team after the game against Chhattisgarh in Raipur last November. “On a turning track, he couldn’t do too well in that game. But for someone who banks on his natural game, he should be allowed to play that way.

“Nonetheless, he did a pretty decent job in the national T20s and one-dayers even as an opener. Not just that, to improve his red-ball game, he also practised batting against the red ball this season to counter swing. This, too, has benefited his overall game,” Doru emphasised.

Ashutosh averaged 82 in the national T20s at a strike rate of 167.34, and in the national one-dayers, his average read 34.42 with the strike rate being 145.18. In the ongoing IPL, the figures could be even better.