'Virat, you're my inspiration. Watch me play 4 Australia in 2025'
Australian allrounder Aryan Sharma was only 11 years old when he held up a banner in the stands with the above message to his hero, Virat Kohli, and the rest of the world during the 2018 Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Just as he had manifested, Aryan debuted for Australia at the Under-19 level when he was 18 and went onto play a Youth Test for Australia against India in Brisbane during 2025.
Aryan, who was Australia Under-19s' finisher and left-arm spinner during the most recent Under-19 World Cup in Southern Africa, has now had a taste of the BBL with Melbourne Stars and spin-friendly conditions in Chennai during an Australia development camp more recently at the MRF Academy.
Aryan firmly believes that the power of manifestation has brought him on Australia's radar. "I think it's a very powerful tool," Aryan tells Cricinfo on the sidelines of a training session in Chennai. "Like if you have genuine belief in something and you believe you can do it, you will end up doing it. So I think that's really powerful and I use it most of the time. I was confident to put the year down as 2025 as I counted to when I would be 18. In my head, I would debut for Australia when I was 18, and I 100% believed in it."
Aryan's father, Raman Sharma, also had full faith in his son's abilities after moving to Australia from Punjab's Hoshiarpur district in 2005. He worked a number of jobs, including driving cabs, to support the family and, despite various challenges, he continued to encourage Aryan to play cricket.
"You can bowl magic balls but they're not getting anyone out. So learning stuff like that, learning the art of how to make the ball spin less. Stuff like that. With the bat, it's just grinding it out" Aryan Sharma on what he learnt at the camp in Chennai
"Back then, I remember he still tells me he came to Australia with $1000 in his pocket," Aryan says. "Dad told me his first job was [at the] World Health Organisation (WHO), like he would do door knocking. So he went from that, did a bit of cab driving, did some electrical work, and then he started doing his own migration consultant business. Now that's doing pretty well, and he's enjoying life. It's all down to the sacrifice from the entire family.
"Even to this day, dad, he would do anything for me to just make sure he sees me thriving. Same with my mum. My grandparents as well, they've woken up early to give me food. So I think the whole family has played a big role in my development."
Raman tried to spring a surprise on Aryan when he flew down to Bulawayo for the U-19 World Cup semi-finals against England earlier this year in February, but a location tracker app gave away Raman's little surprise. Australia also ended up losing that semi-final to England, but in isolation, Aryan had a good hit out with the bat, cracking 34 off 23 balls from No. 7.
"So he came, literally, he boarded a flight, didn't tell me anything," Aryan says. "But then, he's a bit older, he doesn't understand technology. Like, I have his location. So I saw it landed in Zimbabwe, and I'm like, I know what's going on here. We didn't get the win but my dad was out there for me, smiling."
Aryan calls himself an "emotional cricketer" and began doing breathing exercises in the lead-up to his maiden U-19 World Cup to stay centered.
"I ride the highs and lows," Aryan says. "So I think that breathwork always brings me back to ground zero and I'm ready to go from there. I find that helps me a lot, like regulating my own breath and stuff. So I find that's worked very well."
Picking the brains of experienced pros like Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis at Stars in the BBL have also helped him deal with pressure better.
"Maxi has years of knowledge and he loves to share it," Aryan says. "He has no ounce of arrogance in him. When I came into the Big Bash environment, I was new, and Stoin took me on board. He's talking to some 17-18 year old kid and actually trying to help me out. I remember after one of the games I messaged him that I was going to the World Cup.
"He was just saying really take on this finisher role that I was getting in the World Cup. He said if I can nail that role all the teams will want me. You bowl left-arm offspin and if you can bat as well, that's a very big plus point for you."
In Chennai, Aryan also had an opportunity to polish his left-arm spin in conditions that were conducive to slow bowing in a competitive environment against the Andhra Ranji team, coached by Gary Stead.
"[The] bowling part, just learning what I can do, how I can adjust to different conditions," Aryan says. "You can bowl magic balls but they're not getting anyone out. So learning stuff like that, learning the art of how to make the ball spin less. Stuff like that. With the bat, it's just grinding it out.
"You're not going to get it right, it's going to look ugly sometimes but it's about how you progress. I think that's the idea behind this development camp. I'm very grateful for the opportunity because again, for us in Victoria it's like five degrees at the moment, so it's good to get out here and do the heat and play some cricket outside."
Come the Australian summer, Aryan hopes to make his Shield and BBL debuts but cautions himself against getting ahead of himself.
"I think it's good to think about it and have it in your mind but not getting too far ahead of yourself," Aryan says. "Still taking it day by day because at the end of the day, the only thing that's going to get you there is your performance on the day. There's no guarantees here, but I think you've got to make your own spot and that's all you can do."