It was more than a month since IPL 2026 started that Punjab Kings (PBKS) found a place in the starting XI for Suryansh Shedge.
The presence of Marcus Stoinis, who has a similar set of skills plus great international and franchise experience, had made it tough for Shedge to break through. But Shedge has had the support of his captain Shreyas Iyer, also his Mumbai captain from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024-25, when Shedge had first come into the limelight for his finishing skills.
Shedge spoke of how Iyer asked him not to overthink during one of PBKS' practice matches in the lead-up to this IPL.
"I think that stuck with me before the season started… I think he always keeps me on my toes," Shedge said of Iyer ahead of PBKS' match against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dharamsala on Monday. "And we talk a lot about cricket: when it comes to technique, when it comes to attitude, [and] what can both of us do better."
Apart from Iyer, there's head coach Ricky Ponting for guidance. Shedge, 23, said he felt "honoured" to be around Ponting. Ponting stresses only on "preparation, preparation, preparation - nothing else," Shedge said. He has also taught Shedge to back himself, be courageous, and know that he belongs at PBKS.
Talking about "a heart-to-heart talk" he had with Ponting this season, Shedge said, "I remember after the fourth or fifth game, after the net session, he took me aside. He asked me if I'm frustrated. I said 'no' at first. He said, 'be honest'. So I said, 'yes, sir. At nights, I do feel it sometimes'. So he said, 'I can totally understand how you're feeling... right now, it's easy to get bogged down and start thinking negatively; but it's harder to stay in the present and keep focusing on your preparation so that if and when you get a chance, you're turned on and you're ready to give it your all'. So I think that talk helped me a lot."
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Playing as a finisher for Mumbai in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the then 21-year-old Shedge played three impactful cameos of 30* (eight balls), 36* (12 balls) and 36* (15 balls) - exactly the kind of innings modern T20 cricket demands. The last two of those came in the quarter-final and final, as Mumbai went on to lift the trophy.
One-and-a-half years later, Shedge is hoping to make a lot of noise in the glamorous world of the IPL. And the Shedge of 2026 is not only older, but also wiser and more experienced. "I think in the last two years - if you look at my Under-23 also this year - I've been put into situations where we were four down for 40 or 50. And then I had to play that spell and capitalise on the loose balls."
Last week, Shedge found himself in a similar situation. PBKS were 36 for 4 in the sixth over against Gujarat Titans (GT) five days after their six-match winning streak in as many completed matches this season had ended. In the opposition were world-class bowlers like Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada.
But Shedge was unperturbed. First, he calmly saw Rashid off when PBKS were in a hole. Then, after the rebuilding was done and he was settled at the crease - Shedge was on 13 off his first 14 balls - he backed himself to play his shots.
"I think once you're exposed to higher cricket, you kind of learn a lot of new things," he said. "And there [in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy] my role was only [being] the finisher. I only got to bat for a certain amount of time.
"If you look at the GT game, I had a lot of time left in the game. So when you're preparing in the nets, you also have to prepare for that - what if you go into bat early and then you have to spend time there?"
Shedge started the attack against GT by swiping Arshad Khan for six. He then went 6, 6, 4, 4, 6 off left-arm spinner Manav Suthar - hits which were spread all around: two sixes went down the ground, and one over midwicket. The boundaries travelled through deep cover and deep point. There was power and range.
Shedge's preparation was paying off. He reached his fifty off 24 balls, ended with 57 in 29 deliveries in a rescue act, and took PBKS into a position of relative comfort. It wasn't enough in the end, but Shedge had played his part.
"As you progress in cricket, you get the hang of playing in different situations," he said of the journey from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to the IPL. "So I think preparation-wise, it's not much different from what I did two years back. But I think the mindset shift is what gives a player the edge."
Shedge reached out to former India and Mumbai batter Jatin Paranjape, who helped him with the mindset he spoke about. Paranjape advised Shedge to focus on the present, much like Ponting would do. "And [he said] whenever you're overthinking, come to me, talk about stuff. It can be about cricket, it can be about life," Shedge said. "You just need to feel light when your head hits the pillow, and [be] ready for the next [game]."
PBKS allrounder talks about the various influences on his career
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Finishers get to face only a limited number of balls. The field is spread, and yet there's expectation on them to take the bowling down from ball one.
For Shedge, success in domestic cricket didn't translate into immediate opportunity in the IPL. He batted three times in five matches in IPL 2025, and faced just 11 balls even as PBKS made the final.
In IPL 2026, he waited for his chance even as a settled PBKS reeled off one win after another. But Shedge used the time off to work on his technique, and much else.
"There was this little tweak I made in my initial movement, where I got the best chance of moving quicker," he said about the work he put in during the month he was on the PBKS bench. "And then we were practicing short stuff and [batting against] spinners. So I was breaking it down into things, where, if I wanted to work on my technique and just go back to my basics, I would go on the nets outside and spend 30 minutes on just watching the ball and playing - not thinking about anything.
"But that one shift which I made was being instinctive, and not premeditative. I think that has helped me. Even in practice, if I'm just instinctive and I let my body take control and I just focus on watching the ball, I think I have better chances of succeeding in the game. And obviously, if there's a set field for wide yorkers, [or] wide lines, then you can premeditate. But when you go into bat, you always need to be instinctive."
It seems to be coming together for Shedge, at a critical time for PBKS, when they have lost three games in a row. If he can play a part in turning things around for his team, he is unlikely to have to be on the bench in the foreseeable future.