Who is Kartik Sharma? – All you need to know about CSK’s INR 14.20 crore uncapped wicketkeeper-batter

Chennai Super Kings acquired youngster Kartik Sharma for a whopping INR 14.20 crore in the auction ahead of IPL 2026. The 19-year-old player recently represented Rajasthan in the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 

Kartik first rose to prominence when he smacked a century on debut in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy. He is an exciting youngster known for his clean power-hitting ability. Kartik made his T20 debut and List A debut in November and December of the same year.

Interestingly, Kartik’s journey started with street cricket. Born into a middle-class family, Kartik had to work his way up before transitioning to structured training at a local cricket academy. He became the favourites of coaches based on his natural strokeplay and aggressive approach. Kartik became a consistent performer at the U-16 level after starting off with U-14 cricket for the state.

His break came at the U-19 level with a list of prominent performances. Kartik has previously mentioned in interviews that he has been an admirer of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

At a tender age of 19, Kartik’s prowess earned recognition from Jindal South West (JSW). The renowned group is famously known for managing upcoming elite and established athletes like Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. Kartik has played nine List A matches  scored 445 runs and 334 runs while striking at 118.03 and 162.92, respectively. Barring eight First-Class matches, 

Kartik was the second uncapped player signed by CSK after Prashant Veer. Both of them have been snapped into the five-time champions’ setup for INR 14.20 crore in Abu Dhabi on December 16. CSK did not have an IPL 2025 to remember as they finished at the bottom of the points table for the first time in their history. With Kartik-like acquisitions, they will aim for a much better performance in the season to come.