An unknown Indian fast bowler with no first-class experience was blanketed in hype when he picked up a Rajasthan Royals contract earlier this year. He didn't play a game in the Indian Premier League, but the buzz surrounding Atul Sharma was that he was seriously quick. An Indian men's lifestyle magazine Man's World looks at how biomechanics, a javelin coach and training stints in England, South Africa and the US are helping Sharma get closer to his dream of becoming the world's fastest bowler.
Sharma hasn t played a single club match for seven years and has never played first-class cricket. Heck, he couldn t even always find a place in his school side. So how has this Mumbaikar got to where he is right now, within sight, assuming he doesn t fall prey to injuries or is found lacking in big match temperament, of a place in the national side? The answer to that is simple: ever since he first took a cricket ball in his hand, Sharma has wanted to bowl fast, faster than anybody else in the world. And as he grew up, this desire became an all-consuming one, an ambition that disregarded the lack of innate ability