This ball of 154.2 KMPH overtook Enrique Norkhia’s 151.6 KMPH, and is also the fastest ball of the last two IPL seasons. Overall, this ball placed Ashok in the top 10 list of fastest balls in IPL history, tied with Kagiso Rabada at the ninth position.

Who is Ashok Kumar?
Gujarat is not Ashoka’s first IPL franchise. A few years ago, he worked as a net bowler for Rajasthan before getting his first IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 55 lakh. But, he did not get a chance to play any matches for the three-time champion team and later returned to Rajasthan Royals, who signed him for Rs 30 lakh in the 2025 mega auction.

Nevertheless, Ashok had to wait for his IPL debut, spending another season on the bench as Gujarat Titans picked him up for Rs 90 lakh ahead of the 2026 season.

Fastest ball in IPL history
157.7 kmph – Shaun Tait (Rajasthan Royals, 2011)
157.3 kmph – Lockie Ferguson (Gujarat Titans, 2022)
157 kmph – Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2022)
156.7 kmph – Mayank Yadav (Lucknow Super Giants, 2024)
156.2 kmph – Enrique Norkhia (Delhi Capitals, 2020)

154.2 kmph – Ashok Sharma (Gujarat Titans, 2026)

Ashok is a fan of Dale Steyn
An ardent fan of legendary South African pace bowler Dale Steyn, Ashok finally made his IPL debut on March 31 against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur. He took the wicket of Marco Jansen and impressed captain Shubman Gill.

Gill was also impressed by Ashok’s bowling
This right-arm bowler consistently bowled the ball at a speed of 140 to 145 kmph and also bowled slower balls. Although he gave away 26 runs in his first two overs, he made a strong comeback in the death overs, bowling a brilliant 18th over which yielded just five runs, including the wicket of Yansen.

After the match, Gill had said, ‘He bowled very well in the front and I think in the back also. He is definitely a player who will prove to be very valuable for us with more matches and experience.

After his impressive domestic season for Rajasthan, Gujarat identified Ashok as a promising talent. Ashok, 23, took 14 wickets in four first-class matches, 13 wickets in seven List-A games and 24 wickets in 12 T20 matches.

repaying brother’s sacrifice

In an interview with Sportsstar last November, after a stellar performance against Mumbai in which he took three crucial wickets including that of Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan and Siddhesh Lad, an emotional Ashok talked about his brother’s sacrifice.

Ashok had said, ‘My elder brother, Akshay, played at the district level, but he sacrificed his career for me. My father is a farmer. When I was in class 10, my father said that only one of us could play cricket because he could not afford both. So my brother left it. Had it not been for him, I would not have been able to come this far.