Karn Sharma: The ‘Lucky Charm’ Spinner with 3 IPL Titles

Veteran leg-spinner Karn Sharma went unsold in the IPL 2026 mini-auction despite winning 3 IPL titles with different teams. Explore his unique career, records, and impact.

Karn Sharma IPL ‘Lucky Charm (Image Source: Google)

One of the news after the IPL 2026 mini-auction held in Abu Dhabi, was that Karn Sharma (left-hand batsman and leg break bowler) went unsold. The world didn’t pay any significant attention to this veteran leg-spinner with base price Rs. 50 lacs, remaining unsold, but anyone who knows him, realised that all 10 teams missed a chance to include this lucky charm in their side. He has so far represented SunRisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru and believes that, in an IPL career of only 90 matches, he has won 3 IPL titles.

He is particularly remembered for being a superstar for MI in the 2017 season as he claimed 13 wickets in nine innings at an economy of 6.97 and played an instrumental role in powering them to their third IPL title (including a spectacular 4/16 in Qualifier 2). In IPL 2025, he didn’t do badly and picked up seven wickets in six at an economy of 8.53 and was successful in containing the opposition batters with his ‘firki’, leading MI to victories, before getting injured. Probably his 38+ age and fitness factor went against him, and even they were not interested in him for 2026.

He has so far played in 12 out of a total of 18 seasons and in 3 of them has won a winners' medal and that too winning back-to-back IPL trophies. This is a rare IPL achievement, difficult to match for anyone. Further, he did it with three different franchises, which looks like a crazy fact:
• 2016: won the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad but was released.
• 2017: Bought by Mumbai Indians, won the title and, despite an incredible performance, he was not retained.
• 2018: Bought by Chennai Super Kings and this time they won the title.

Meerut continued giving fine bowlers to cricket but, unlike Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karn Sharma is a leg spinner. As an uncapped cricketer, he featured for RCB in 2009 (1 match) under a contract of Rs. 20 lacs and after that he was a forgotten man. In 2013, SRH brought him for Rs. 30 lacs under an uncapped contract, and he claimed 11 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 6.60 and formed a lethal pair with India leg spinner Amit Mishra, and they took SRH to the semi-finals in their first season.
 

He was under the hammer for the first time in 2014 and bagged an IPL contract for Rs 3.75 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was the highest amount spent on a domestic uncapped player in that auction. Took 15 wickets at 25.06 and the last two-season performance earned him not only an India A call, within four months he debuted for India in all the three formats.
T20I debut against England in September 2014: Played 1 match and took 1 wicket.
ODI debut against Sri Lanka in November 2014: Played only 2 matches without a wicket.
Test debut against Australia in December 2014: Played only one Test, took 4 wickets and got out his IPL teammate David Warner in both innings.
Quickest to Debut for India Men across formats: 14 days - Mukesh Kumar, 44 - T Natarajan, 59 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 76 - Harshit Rana and 93 - Karn Sharma.

He is one of the five men who have played four international matches (covering all three formats):
Naman Ojha from India (one Test, one ODI and two T20Is)
Karn Sharma from India (1-2-1)
Scott Borthwick from England (1-2-1)
Charlton Tshuma from Zimbabwe (1-2-1)
Mohammad Saleem from Afghanistan (1-2-1)
Only Nonkhululeko Peaceful Thabethe, South Africa's women cricketer, has the better record and on the India tour in 2014, she made her debut in all the three formats and didn’t add to her match tally after that.

In 2015, Karn was the lead spin bowler for SRH and in the 2016 season, he won the IPL with them. Incidentally, SRH is the only IPL side who has used Karn Sharma for 10 or more matches in a season.
IPL 2017: MI brought him for Rs. 3.2 crores, and he won his second IPL title (in the final, conceded only 18 runs in 4 overs, including 12 dot balls).
IPL 2018: Brought by the CSK for Rs.5 crores and went on to win the title.
 

CSK, although it retained him, didn’t use him. This impacted his mark and he was absent from IPL 2021 and 2022. He was bought by the RCB and played in the 2023 and 2024 seasons with them. Then it was the turn of MI to remember him again for IPL 2025.