Chennai Super Kings’ inspiring father-son story that sank Mumbai Indians

By K.R. Nayar 

While reporting the IPL 2026 auction in December 2025 from the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, it was surprising to see Chennai Super Kings (CSK) splurging Rs 14.20 crores on 19-year-old Kartik Sharma. On May 2, 2026, Sharma smashed an unbeaten 54 to steer CSK to an eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Chennai at the Chepauk ground, announcing that he was worth every rupee spent on him with audacious faith.

Kartik Sharma imitates M S Dhon's gun shot celebration on completing his half century

As soon as Chennai bought Sharma and 20-year-old Parshant Veer for a huge amount, I was curious to know more about them. Sharma’s tale was an inspiring one. It was a tale of a father backing his son’s dream with confidence, willing to undergo any risk and hardship. This father-son story is an example for many young kids aiming to become IPL players. His father opted for sacrifice over security.

Sharma was born in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, a city famous for its bird sanctuary. The way he soared like a bird from this city, which has not produced any notable cricketers, is exciting. Though his birthplace did not have the infrastructure to learn cricket, his father Manoj ensured that it was created for his son. His father was not a millionaire but a humble tuition teacher and also owned a few shops. He sold his shops over the years just to fund his son’s journey; an example of investing in a sports career rather than following the usual trend of investing in education. Today, cricket is a profession worth investing in.

When the dream of shaping his son into a star cricketer took precedence, Manoj did not hesitate to do even the impossible. He bought a bowling machine and transformed his home into a cricket academy. Sharma trained hard, sharpening his skills for hours on this bowling machine, chiseling his ambition. Manoj also took a loan and got his son 500 cricket balls.

All these efforts soon produced results. Sharma rose to become a ferocious striker. He earned the tag of a serial six-hitter, emerging as the highest six-hitter in the 2024–25 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the pressure of being the highest paid uncapped player affected his free hitting, and he was able to score only 58 runs from five innings before this match. As expectations grew louder, doubts began creeping in. But in the CSK- MI match, he withstood the pressure to produce a match-winning unbeaten 54 in front of CSK’s home crowd. 

Sometimes, a happy story has a sad side story too. MI’s performance in the IPL edition falls in that category. They are on the verge of elimination with just four points from nine matches. They need to get at least 14 to 16 points to make it to the playoff stage, which now looks nearly impossible. It was a helpless show against CSK, as they were unable to break the partnership between CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (67 n.o.) and Sharma. MI’s total of 159 for 7 was the lowest total against CSK at Chepauk in recent years.

CSK also went on to become the first team to secure 20 IPL victories against their once arch-rivals, MI. Through this win, they recorded a double over MI this season, having also inflicted their heaviest-ever run-margin defeat (103 runs) on them on April 23, 2026.

This win proves that CSK’s investment in young talent has started to pay off. Sharma also took up wicketkeeping on advice from Deepak Chahar, another player from Rajasthan. By imitating MS Dhoni’s iconic 2005 gun celebration after completing his fifty, Sharma is set to shoot up to greater fame. For this boy who has done the impossible by chasing his dream, anything is possible.