What is Ashutosh Sharma's strike rate worth to Delhi Capitals in a trade?

Delhi Capitals want a fast bowler in return for Ashutosh Sharma, with Gujarat Titans reported to be in talks, and the popular reading is that a finisher who strikes at almost 169 in the IPL should fetch a good one. Our ratings cool that a little: they rank him 27th of 155 IPL batters, worth about 3 runs a match more than an average player. That describes a sound middle-order hitter, and any asking price should start from there.

How does Ashutosh Sharma compare with other finishers?

On pace alone he stands well clear of the field. Across his men's T20 cricket over the last two years he has a strike rate of 166.5, against 132.9 for top-seven batters in that time, which is the kind of tempo that settles tight finishes.

The average is the salient limit. Over those two years his batting average is 26.04, only just above the batting average of 24.03 for top-seven batters, and his best score in that time is 66 not out. Any criticism needs tempering, because a finisher arrives late and short innings are the job; the corollary is that his value comes in short bursts, which are hard to bank on from one match to the next.

Ashutosh Sharma's recent form

His last ten matches show the finisher's swings. After an unbeaten 18 from 11 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in May, he played nine games for Malwa Stallions in June, hitting 25 from 8 balls and 19 from 7, but also making 0, 1 and 5.

His bowling does little to change the sum. His right-arm medium pace has brought seven wickets in two years at an economy of 9.28, against 8.19 for bowlers across men's T20s, so Delhi would lose no real bowling option by letting him go.

What is Ashutosh Sharma worth as a finisher?

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy our ratings put him tenth of 78 batters, by the same margin of about 3 runs a match, so in both the IPL and that domestic competition he reads as a good hitter some way short of a match-winner.

His strike rate is the reason he is in trade talks, and both sets of ratings mark where his value stops: a finisher a few runs a match above average, whose quick cameos win the odd game and whose average rarely carries one. That is a useful player to have, and Delhi are right to want a proper return for him, so long as they price him as exactly that: a solid finisher worth a few extra runs a match at the death.