The Indian Premier League has unearthed a number of gems over the years who have gone on to great things in the future, be it Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, or Yuzvendra Chahal.
The IPL 2026 Auction has produced another young player who is destined to achieve new heights in the form of Kartik Sharma.
In this article, we will learn who Kartik Sharma is. The 19-year-old was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for 14.20 Crore at the IPL 2026 Auction
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Who is Kartik Sharma? The 19-year-old bought by Chennai Super Kings for 14.20 Crore at IPL 2026 Auction
The Journey
The 19-year-old wicketkeeper batter Kartik Sharma made his name while playing the Rajasthan Premier League for his power-hitting abilities and soon caught the eyes of a few IPL franchises.
As has been the case with a number of talented players in the past, he was called for the trials by the Rajasthan Royals in 2023, just after the Rajasthan Premier League.
In the following year, Kartik was approached by two of the most talked-about IPL teams, the Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
He continued his good work after impressing everyone in the Rajasthan Premier League and scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut, and followed it up with a fifty on debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Although Kartik missed the last U19 World Cup held in South Africa by a small margin, he kept on putting runs in the U19 and U23 circuit and is among the top three hitters in age-group cricket.
The wicketkeeper batter possesses a good record in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 334 runs in 11 matches across two seasons so far.
The Bidding war
Kartik, who was listed as an uncapped wicketkeeper at a base price of 30 lakh, went on to fetch 14.20 Crore, which is the highest amount paid to any player by the Chennai Super Kings, overtaking the previous highest bid of 14 Crore made for Deepak Chahar.
The bid was kicked off by the Mumbai Indians, who understandably backed off due to insufficient purse and were replaced by KKR, with LSG being the second team
The bidding war between KKR and LSG took the price to 2.6 Crore, with the latter backing out while the former tried its best to grab him, but was outbid by the Chennai Super Kings.
CSK eventually succeeded in buying the 19-year-old after a tough fight from SRH for 14.20 crore.
The Support
Kartik Sharma joins a team that has a good blend of youth and experience and will be under the wings of the most successful IPL captain, MS Dhoni, who has guided a number of youngsters in the past.
Along with Dhoni, Kartik Sharma will also get the company of Sanju Samson, who was traded to Chennai Super Kings before the auction, and would aim to make the most of the opportunity by inculcating all the experience that Dhoni and Sanju have of international cricket
