Shubham Sharma - a low-profile red-ball warrior in the T20 era

Shubham Sharma is content living a low-profile life as a cricketer. He hasn't had a chance to play in the IPL, and is not a regular for his team, Madhya Pradesh (MP), in T20s. Batting in T20 cricket isn't Shubham's strength; that lies in his ability to accumulate runs and grinding his way through in the longer formats.

Shubham's batting style and trigger movement remind viewers of Wasim Jaffer: he leans into the shots, and drives the ball late as he gets low.

It has been nearly 12 years since his first-class debut for MP, and two years since he was named the MP captain for the Ranji Trophy. While plenty of young cricketers graduate through the junior ranks, Shubham never got the chance to play for India Under-19s. The closest he came was when he was named among the probables for the Under-19 World Cup in 2012, but wasn't selected in the final squad - India went on to lift the trophy under Unmukt Chand.

Despite toiling for years in domestic cricket, Shubham hasn't been able to make the step up to India A. Set to turn 32 later this year, he knows higher honours may have passed him by even as his MP team-mates Rajat Patidar, Avesh Khan, Venkatesh Iyer and Kuldeep Sen have made their India debuts in recent years. Shubham's motivation, however, comes from trying to achieve excellence in domestic cricket.

"It's a great feeling to have played for this long, and I want to keep doing well in domestic cricket," Shubham told ESPNcricinfo after his side Central Zone (CZ) progressed to the semi-final in the season-opening Duleep Trophy by beating North East Zone (NEZ).

Since the 2021-22 domestic season, Shubham, far from the limelight, has the most runs (2849) by any batter to have played at least 40 innings across all top-flight first-class domestic competitions in India. His nine hundreds are the joint-second-highest in this period, and he averages 52.75.

One of those centuries came in the second innings against NEZ after he missed out on scoring on a flat pitch in the first innings. It was a typical Shubham knock: patient and measured, ending with 122 runs off 215 balls.

"As a youngster, I was very rigid. I have experienced that many youngsters today are very set in their ways about their game too. But the coaches are very experienced. They have been watching cricket for a long time," Shubham said. "So the first advice [to the younger players] is that you should always listen to your coaches, and try to apply what they say. Then you will have a chance to grow quickly."

Shubham's success in the last three domestic seasons includes scoring 608 runs in six matches in MP's maiden Ranji-winning run in 2021-22. He cracked four centuries and a fifty in nine innings then, including a hundred in the final against Mumbai, when his 116 from No. 3 helped MP take a lead of 162 in the first innings to set up the six-wicket win.

He said he absorbed the lessons of preparing for the big matches and building the required temperament from listening to Rahul Dravid at the then National Cricket Academy (NCA, now Centre of Excellence) in Bengaluru.

"Rahul sir took one of our Under-16 sessions at the NCA," Shubham said, recalling meeting one of his childhood heroes. "At the time, I asked him a lot of questions about mindset, and he told me things that continue to help me today.

"Back then I was very young. At that age, you are generally scared of a lot of things about the game. So I shared that with Rahul sir. But given his experience, he explained to me that these are all part and parcel of failure. He taught me how to prepare for games, including the mental side of it."

Shubham has had his share of challenges in domestic cricket. One bowler who has troubled him is Mohammed Shami. Shubham has faced Shami in one first-class match and one List A match, and took back a few lessons from both.

Shami had dismissed him in the first innings when MP were playing Bengal in the Ranji Trophy last season.

"Despite the difficulty, I liked facing Shami bhai a lot," Shubham said. "He bowled a five-over spell in the second innings when we were playing Bengal in the Ranji Trophy last season, and didn't even let me change strike for that long. It was a learning for me.

"In the one-day game, we were 2 for 2 [chasing 270]. I got out on 99, but I liked facing Shami bhai. His backspin is so good, and he swings the ball late. So your confidence increases when you face a world-class bowler like him. Then you feel that you can play against anyone."

Shubham may not be the most famous member of the MP side, nor does he have the name and fame which success in T20 cricket rewards you with, but he is comfortable sticking to his strengths, which is giving himself time on the field, letting things come to him, and performing quietly yet confidently. Those qualities will once again be required when his side faces West Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final starting Thursday.