Even without first-class and List A experience, young Suyash Sharma has been able to steal the spotlight in Kolkata Knight Riders colours in the ongoing IPL. So much so that the 19-year-old, with nine scalps so far from seven appearances in his debut IPL, is KKR’s second-highest wicket-taker after Varun Chakravarthy (14 scalps).

The googly with his arm speed has made life difficult for batsmen of the rival teams. For Suyash though, the focus is on strengthening his base instead of thinking too much about variations.

“I do have one or two more variations (apart from the googly). But at present, I am working on strengthening my base.

“Once I do that and keep working harder, I will gain a lot more confidence and then I can show what I’m truly capable of alongside my variations,” Suyash told The Telegraph on Sunday.

Playing for India is the obvious goal of most youngsters, but Suyash prefers to concentrate more on sharpening his skills and working further on them. “Working on my skills is my first priority at this stage. By doing so, I will not have to run after success. It will come to me,” he emphasised.

Outside IPL, his cricketing experience is only about a few U-25 one-dayers for Delhi. However, the teenager is quite keen on playing red-ball cricket too.

“Red ball cricket is quite interesting. I haven’t played it yet though. In Delhi, red-ball matches don’t happen too often. But yeah, I would certainly like to play if I get a chance,” Suyash, who hails from Bhajanpura in east Delhi, stated.

Suyash is expected to become an even better bowler, courtesy his IPL experience. But off the field too, his life seems to be on right track.

“Things happened so quickly, and all good things happened. So yeah, life has changed. For my family though, me getting picked at the auction (last year) itself was something big. They were really proud when I did well in my first game,” Suyash said.