New Delhi, August 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Kashi Rudras captain Karan Sharma says making subtle technical changes to his batting under former India batter and veteran coach Pravin Amre has improved his power-hitting and timing, but changing habits built over years was far from easy.
Sharma, who continues to work closely with his childhood coach Rajan Sachdeva, travelled to Mumbai before the season for a 10-day stint with Amre. The focus was on small adjustments to his posture and swing, which Sharma believes have made a noticeable difference to his game.
The results have been evident in the ongoing league, with Sharma leading the run-scoring charts with 298 runs from nine matches at an average of 37.25 and a strike rate of 146.8.
“I work a lot on batting with the help of my childhood coach Rajan Sachdeva sir. I chat a lot about batting with him as he’s someone who can understand my batting very well,” Sharma told IANS in an exclusive interaction on the sidelines of the league in Kanpur.
“Before this season, I had a thought about trying something different – so I went to Mumbai to work under Pravin Amre sir. I practiced for ten days under him and understood about batting in-depth and what more I can do to improve my batting and work on small things.”
Amre identified one or two technical areas that could be improved, Sharma said, adding that the changes helped him generate more power and time the ball better.
However, adapting to the new mechanics initially proved challenging.
“If you change anything in your batting, or something else, it’s not easy, obviously. As a batter today, because you are leaving your natural state, and you’ve been doing one thing for a long time, it’s in your muscle memory,” Sharma said.
“Breaking years of muscle memory, I don’t think it’s an easy job. So, for that one month, there was a bit of a struggle, but after that, I started enjoying batting, and things started making sense.”
Sharma plans to return to Amre before the next Ranji Trophy season, stressing that constant improvement is essential for a batter.
“I feel that every batter, if they are not improving, they are somehow going downwards. So, I think as a batter, you have to remain in a phase of constant improvement,” he said.
The two-time champions Kashi Rudras are currently third on the points table with eight points as the knockout race intensifies. Sharma said the team managed to recover from a difficult phase in which it lost three or four matches in succession by remaining positive and focusing on processes.
That approach paid off with a 67-run victory over Noida Kings, in which Sharma smashed 102 off 51 balls, including 11 boundaries and five sixes.
“The atmosphere in the dressing room is very good right now. When you win, obviously the atmosphere in the team is good. But we saw that time when we were losing, we were still trying to stay positive,” he said.
For Sharma, remaining focused on the present is central to maintaining consistency during a fast-paced tournament.
“I am a person who believes in the process a lot. So, I try to focus on the things that are needed to win rather than just thinking that we have to win,” he said.
He emphasised the importance of concentrating on small tactical details for each batter and ensuring players do not carry the result of one match into the next.
“You have to ensure that when you are coming the next day, you are not coming with a win or a loss in the previous game in your mind,” Sharma said.
While lifting the trophy remains the ultimate objective, Sharma said the team must focus on the immediate challenge rather than looking too far ahead.
“The Kashi Rudras’ drive and biggest motivation for the team is to lift the trophy, but lifting it consistently is, I think, a bigger motivation for any team and for any player,” he said.
“But at the same time, we have to ensure that we focus on the next match and don’t think too far ahead or too far behind.”
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