Plenty Valley young gun Aryan Sharma awarded VSDCA Anthony Gale Medal

A breakout season at the top of the order at Plenty Valley has seen young batsman Aryan Sharma named the VSDCA’s best young player.

Anthony Gale and Anthony Gale Medal winner Aryan Sharma. Picture: Ben Higgins

A breakout season at the top of the order at Plenty Valley has seen Aryan Sharma recognised as the VSDCA’s best young talent.

The Bats young gun was awarded the Anthony Gale Medal as the competition’s best player under 21 during Wednesday night’s Holten Medal awards.

At just 16 years old, Sharma was prolific, scoring 522 runs at an average of 43.50 during the home-and-away season – ranked sixth in the North-East group.

His crowning achievement, a maiden century, making 100 against Ivanhoe in Round 8 and finishing with three 50s in the final four matches.

The talented batsman thanked Plenty Valley for giving him the opportunity and said improving his mentality was the key to his breakout campaign.

Anthony Gale and Anthony Gale Medal winner Aryan Sharma. Picture: Ben Higgins

“Throughout my three seasons at Plenty Valley, they’ve given me that position and a lot of trust,” he said.

“I’ve slowly got used to it and adapted and managed to perform.

“Developing my mentality has been the most important thing, being present and staying focused during the whole innings, the whole game.

“(Scoring the century) was awesome.

“During the innings I didn’t think about it too much, touching on that skill of being present was really important.

“Once I got there it was a big relief, a big achievement and an awesome moment.”

Sharma follows the likes of Josh Agar, Ashane De Silva, Brett Smith and Jake Rigby as Gale Medal winners.

Last season the budding run-scorer led Plenty Valley’s Craig Shield team to the grand final, scoring 298 runs at 49.66, with four half-centuries.

He’s also represented Fitzroy-Doncaster in the Premier Cricket Dowling Shield for the past two seasons.

Sharma said a potential jump to Premier Cricket was firmly in his sights.

“(Dowling Shield) was a good platform to get into a Premier club.

“It was good to get to know the senior players, the coaches and knowing the standard – the difference between a Premier club and Subbies club.

“I’ll look for a Premier Cricket club (next season).

“I think it’s the best way for me to reach my potential and develop my skills and hopefully make more runs.

“I’ve just got to know which club I’ll be most comfortable at, it’s the most important thing for my future.”

Sharma’s 522 runs saw him finish second at Plenty Valley behind 2020-21 Holten Medal winner Cal Nankervis, who scored 536.

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Playing alongside the likes of Nankervis, Nish Perera, captain-coach Michael Rogneda and Simon Black has been a big influence on Sharma’s development.

“Throughout the season, every training session, I asked plenty of questions and learnt a lot,” he said.

“It’s definitely been a good experience playing and learning from those experienced players.

“They’ve been an awesome support, they’re great talents, and I’ve learnt from them and added a few things to my game.”