IPL 2026: From 100 kg to IPL spotlight — Who is Raghu Sharma? His inspiring transformation story
Raghu Sharma, who once used to be over 100 kgs, made an impressive transformation from being a pace to the leg spinner in his long jouenry around the globe.
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On the very first ball of his second over during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash for the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Raghu Sharma achieved his first dream with the maiden wicket of the event in the form of Akshat Raghuvanshi. He was quick to get a paper full of emotional words out of his pocket.
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Raghu was around 25 when he was told that he was too old. Born and brought up in Jalandhar, he didn’t play serious cricket at the start before turning 18. Since then, his career has taken him from Punjab to Puducherry to Galle in Sri Lanka, to Stoke-on-Trent in England.
Once battling fitness issues, Raghu Sharma now making headlines in IPL 2026
Raghu comes from the educational family of doctors and engineers and was nearly set to follow the same path when he was admitted to study electrical engineering in 2011. India had just won the 50-over World Cup, which grew the interest of the game in him, like many others. But while going to the Burlton Park for practice, he faced a problem with his weight.
“I weighed around 102kg. If you see my old photos on Facebook, two or three Raghus of today can fit into that Raghu. And since I had not played any cricket until then, the coaches' response was not very encouraging. But I was determined.” He expressed on ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
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“I realised I needed to lose weight. I would go to the ground in the afternoon, in 45-46°C heat. No one else would be there, but I would keep running and running. After that, I would bowl nonstop for two hours. Within six months, I lost 30-35kg.” The Mumbai Indians' bowler added.
He used to be a fast bowler, but a hamstring injury forced him to cut the run-up and bowl some leg-spin. Madan Lal, the coach of the Jalandhar District, suggested that he switch to leg spin.
Incredible weight loss journey fuels his rise in competitive cricket
It didn’t take him enough time to start at the state level. He made his FC debut under Yuvraj Singh and picked up seven wickets against Goa. Despite being dropped after that game, he didn’t lose hope and continued to grow inside.
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“I started leg-spin by watching his videos. I had a great desire to meet him because, in a way, he is my mentor - I still watch his videos before a match. His leg-spin tutorial is still there. It's about 9-9.5 minutes long, where he explains everything, starting from how to grip the ball: two fingers up, two fingers down.” The 33-year-old addressed.
“How to bowl a leg-break, how to bowl a wrong'un from the back of the hand. how to bowl a flipper or the slider, and I would watch it again and again, and try it out in the nets.” He concluded.
MI will hope to see the bowler earn more success and become a vital member of their IPL family.
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