Excited to be playing under Dhoni: Karn

“I’m looking forward to playing for the champion franchise. CSK has a lot of great players in its line-up. I see this as a great opportunity to learn from them and become a better player,” added the Meerutborn cricketer.

The ‘Lions’ won the IPL twice, finished runner-up on four occasions and qualified to the play-offs in every season between 2008 and 2015 to emerge as one of the most successful franchises in the opening decade. 

Wrist spinners are making a huge impact in the shorter formats of the game and Sharma was a consistent performer in domestic cricket and for India A in 2017-18 in what is seen as the revival of the 30-yearold who represented India in Test, ODIs and T20I in 2014. 

Sharma played an important role in Mumbai Indians winning its third title last season, conceding only 18 runs in his four overs in a low-scoring final against Rising Pune Supergiant. He was also a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 2016 title-winning squad. 

Sharma, also a useful lower-order batsman, has not only added more variations to his repertoire but has also worked on imparting more revolutions to his stock delivery. “I’ve been playing in the IPL for long now and have learnt a lot of variations and how to bowl in different situations and to different batsmen. I’ve become a better bowler with that,” concluded Sharma. 

The 2018 season kicks off on April 7 with CSK taking on defending champion MI at the Wankhede Stadium. “Karn is an experienced campaigner in the IPL, has been consistent over the years and turned in match-winning performances in big games,” said KS Viswanathan, CEO, CSK. “Being a wrist spinner, he is a big asset to the side,” he added.