Suyash Sharma reveals surgery for hernia nearly stopped him from starting IPL 2025
"I played after taking injections. Within India, we weren't even able to identify the problem that I was facing"
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-May-2025 • 5 hrs ago
Suyash Sharma: "I had a hernia in three different places. Honestly, I had little hope of playing the first match" • BCCI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legspinner Suyash Sharma has revealed that he was suffering from multiple hernias ahead of IPL 2025. He said RCB sent him to London for surgery, and although he was expected to play only "after three or four games", he eventually made it to the opener, against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 22.
"We were practicing in February, and for two years, I had something going on for me," Suyash said. "I played after taking injections. Within India, we weren't even able to identify the problem that I was facing. [So] RCB sent me to London for surgery. I met James Pipe [RCB's physio] there. He and his family treated me like their family.
"I had a hernia in three different places. Honestly, I had little hope of playing the first match [this season]. I had had a big surgery, and was told that I would be playing only after three or four games. But Pipey and his family took great care of me. I am thankful that I came to this franchise; I became fully fit. Before that, I had been suffering from the pain for the last two years. I was used to playing in pain."
RCB picked Suyash for INR 2.6 crore at the mega auction ahead of this year's IPL. Before that, Suyash had represented KKR in the previous two seasons. Making his IPL debut as a 19-year-old in 2023, he finished with ten wickets in 11 games. But Suyash got to play only two games in 2024, in what turned out to be a victorious campaign for KKR. He went wicketless across four overs in both matches, and was released ahead of this season.
Suyash said he first came to know about the hernia when he wasn't playing at the competitive level.
"If you're playing for India or a franchise, then you can still manage [to get help]. But I had this injury when I wasn't even playing [for any team]," he said. "At that time, I wasn't aware of anything; I just went to a physio, who told me something entirely different - so that made it difficult. RCB showed a lot of faith in me, and invested so much in me."
This IPL, Suyash has played in nine out of RCB's ten matches despite getting only four wickets at an average of 69.75. They play next on Saturday, when they host Chennai Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB have 14 points and appear on course to make the playoffs.