Who was Siddharth Sharma? Know about the Himachal pacer who died aged 28 due to breathing issues

Himachal Pradesh fast bowler Siddharth Sharma passed away at the age of 28 due to breathing issues in Vadodara on Thursday, January 12th. Sharma was part was of the squad that travelled to Gujarat for the Ranji Trophy match against Baroda from January 3-6. During a practice session on December 31st, the seamer complained about having some breathing issues and was hospitalised later that day. While the team was involved in the scheduled game, players are said to be worried about Siddharth’s health throughout, and even kept visiting him in the hospital after the day’s play. As his situation worsened with time, Siddharth was put on the ventilator.

Speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Himachal Pradesh’s Mayank Dagar paid condolences to his late teammate adding that everyone in the team is deeply saddened with the passing of Siddharth. He said Siddharth was an important part of the team and was well connected with everyone, and that he will be missed dearly.

“From January 3 to 6, we played against Baroda, but all of us focused on Siddharth’s health even during the match,” Dagar told ESPNcricinfo. “We visited him regularly in hospital, but we had to leave him alone in Baroda and leave for the next match [against Odisha in Nadaun from January 10 to 13].

“His breathing problem continued to worsen, after which he was put on a ventilator.

“We are all deeply saddened by his death. Sidharth was an important part of our team, and connected well with everyone,” Dagar said while paying tribute to his late teammate.

Even Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also shared his condolences via Twitter.

Siddharth Sharma was born in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh on October 23, 1994, and made his First-Class debut against Bengal at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2017. Ironically, his last FC match also came against the same side at the same venue in December 2022, where he picked five wickets in the first innings and two in the second.

In six FC matches played, Siddharth picked up 25 wickets at an impressive average of 22.20 while appearing in as many List-A matches, the seamer returned with eight wickets at an average of 27.75.

With Himachal Pradesh, he won the 2021/22 Vijay Hazare Trophy wherein he played a total of three matches including the final against Tamil Nadu – returning with figures of one for 34 in ten overs.

Meanwhile, Sidharth’s last rites were performed in Nangal, Punjab, on Friday.