Decoding the journey of Mohit Sharma in IPL
What's the story
Mohit Sharma's resurgence has been one of the stories of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL).
The right-arm pacer, who last played in IPL in 2020, has been a formidable force in death overs this season.
He has played an instrumental role in taking Gujarat Titans to the final.
Mohit, in fact, claimed a fifer in Qualifier 2.
Here are his stats.
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Mohit Sharma's journey in IPL
Mohit burst onto the scenes in his debut IPL season in 2013.
Playing for Chennai Super Kings, he claimed 20 wickets in 15 games at a stellar economy rate of 6.43.
He claimed the purple cap in the following season by grabbing 23 wickets (ER: 8.39).
Notably, Mohit represented India in the 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2015 ODI WC.
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Mixed campaigns in next three seasons
Mohit endured a mixed campaign in the 2015 season where he claimed 14 wickets (ER: 8.43).
As CSK faced a two-year ban after the 2015 season, the pacer served Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the next three seasons.
While he claimed 13 wickets apiece in his first two seasons for KXIP, he returned with seven wickets in nine outings in 2018.
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A forgettable return to CSK
Mohit was back in the CSK squad in 2019 as KXIP released him.
While many expected the pacer to get a decent run, he played one game apiece in the 2019 and 2020, seasons.
After CSK released him, the pacer went unsold in the 2021 and 2022 auctions.
In fact, the purple cap winner of IPL 2014 was GT's net bowler last season.
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The return of Mohit Sharma
While many wrote Mohit off, GT bought him for his base price of 50 lakh in the 2023 auction.
The pacer warmed the benches in GT's first few games.
Match 18 against Punjab Kings marked his comeback as the pacer returned with 2/18 in four overs.
His heroics on return earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.
Mohit did not look back since then.
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Third-leading wicket-taker in IPL 2023
Mohit has now raced to 24 scalps in 13 games in IPL 2023 at an economy of 7.89.
He is only behind his GT teammates Mohammed Shami (28) and Rashid Khan (27) in terms of wickets this season.
While the pacer had a solitary IPL four-fer before this season, he has four now.
No other bowler has claimed more four-wicket hauls in IPL 2023.
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First GT bowler with a fifer in IPL
Mohit claimed figures worth 5/10 in just 2.2 overs in Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians. He became the first GT bowler with a fifer.
Akash Madhwal (5/5) is the only other bowler with a five-wicket haul in the IPL playoffs.
Meanwhile, the pacer's tally of 14 wickets in the final five overs this season is only second to CSK's Matheesha Pathirana (16).
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20-plus IPL scalps for the third time
In 99 IPL games, Mohit has raced to 116 wickets (ER: 8.38). He has three four-wicket hauls and one fifer in the cash-rich league. For the third time in IPL history, Mohit has 20-plus wickets in a season. His 24 scalps are his best returns.