IPL 2025: 'I was used to playing in pain,' RCB’s Suyash Sharma opens up on his battle with Hernia

Suyash Sharma, the young leggie from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), recently revealed how the franchise stood by him not just on the field, but off it too. Battling pain for nearly two years, Suyash shared that he was suffering from hernias in three different places, something that went undiagnosed in India until RCB stepped in and sent him to London for surgery.

Despite being told he would miss the first few games of IPL 2025, Suyash made a surprising recovery and played the opener against his former team, Kolkata Knight Riders, on March 22.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Suyash said, "We were practicing in February, and for two years, I had something going on for me," Suyash said. "I played after taking injections. Within India, we weren't even able to identify the problem that I was facing. RCB sent me to London for surgery. I met James Pipe there. He and his family treated me like their family."

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"I had a hernia in three different places. Honestly, I had little hope of playing the first match. I had had a big surgery, and was told that I would be playing only after three or four games. But Pipey and his family took great care of me. I am thankful that I came to this franchise; I became fully fit. Before that, I had been suffering from the pain for the last two years. I was used to playing in pain." Suyash continued.

Suyash's rise to the top

Picked by RCB for INR 2.6 crore at theIPL 2025 mega auction, Suyash had earlier played for KKR in 2023 and 2024. In his debut season, he took 10 wickets from 11 games. But in 2024, he featured in only two matches and went wicketless, before being released.

"If you're playing for India or a franchise, then you can still manage. But I had this injury when I wasn't even playing," he said. "At that time, I wasn't aware of anything; I just went to a physio, who told me something entirely different, so that made it difficult. RCB showed a lot of faith in me and invested so much in me."

Meanwhile, so far this season, Suyash has played nine of RCB’s ten games, picking up four wickets.

The team currently sits in a strong position with 14 points and is pushing for a playoff spot.

They next face Chennai Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. (May 4)