Have India found their finisher in Shahrukh Khan?
Having grown up in a small residential area in Velachery, M Shahrukh Khan made many heads turn when the Preity Zinta co-owned Indian Premier League franchise Punjab Kings snapped him for a whopping INR 5.25 crore ahead of the 2021 edition of the league.
Still uncapped, the interest shown by the teams in the Chennai lad left many surprised. But those who even remotely kept an eye on Shahrukh’s domestic cricket heroics would know he is already in line to be India’s next big thing. A 6-feet-4-inch-tall robust hitter, Shahrukh has built a reputation as a fearless finisher.
Rising to fame
Shahrukh, who is named after the Bollywood actor, has been a product of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), where he has kept his head cool on multiple occasions to drag his team across the line in tense chases. In the Indian domestic circuit, he gave a glimpse of his ability in the second semi-final of the 2019 Vijay Hazare Trophy when his calculated 46-ball 56 took Tamil Nadu into the final against Gujarat in a tricky 178-run chase in a rain-curtailed match.
A couple of years later in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, his quickfire stand of 75 off 32 with Baba Aparajith, when Shahrukh smacked five fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 19-ball 40, helped Tamil Nadu trump Himachal Pradesh despite being 66/5 at one stage while chasing a modest 136.
What a finish this from Shahrukh Khan yet again for TamilNadu.Wont be a surprise to see Bollywood star and Kollywood star teaming up together in ipl 2022 #VijayHazareTrophy
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) December 21, 2021
More recently, Shahrukh, in another display of top-class lower-order batting in a pressure cooker situation, struck an unbeaten 33 off merely 15 against Karnataka in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final, when he had entered into bat at 95/4 in a 152-run chase. Showing nerves of steel, he led his team beyond the finish line with his brisk knock laced with four boundaries and three sixes, the last of which came when six runs were needed off the final ball.
Clinical finisher
If anything, Shahrukh’s presence only highlights the never-ending riches of Indian cricket. Ever since the retirement of MS Dhoni, quite a few players, including the likes of Shivam Dube, Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya amongst others, have been touted to pick the finisher’s role in the team that the former captain played with panache for over a decade.
A variety of reasons, however, have contributed to India not being able to find an able and consistent contender. With Shahrukh rising the ranks quickly and showing his mettle in highly competitive, high-pressure situations not once but multiple times, it is indeed about time the Indian management keeps an eye on him and attempt to nurture him for the spot in the national team.
