Sandeep recalled the clash against RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where he dismissed Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle. Although Axar Patel was first named Player of the Match in Punjab’s victory, a conversation between the team’s co-owner and Ravi Shastri led to a late change, handing the award to the pacer.

“We were playing a match in Bengaluru against RCB. And I had taken three wickets with the new ball. Virat, ABD and Chris Gayle. So in that match, actually, the Player of the Match was supposed to be Axar Patel, who had also taken two wickets in that match and it was a low-scoring game. In the last over, he had scored 25 runs (19 runs) and scored 38 runs (in total). But the Player of the Match was his, if you look at it. So Preity ma’am was there and she told Ravi Shastri there that the Player of the Match should be Sandy, he has picked three big wickets,” he said on Crictracker.

“Axar Patel told me that…’

Sandeep revealed that he handed the award to Axar, but the left-arm all-rounder pointed out that those wickets were vital in defending 138 runs, cementing the seamer’s impact in the contest.

“And actually, they gave me the Player of the Match. That was one sweet thing. And I actually went and offered it to Axar. But, he told me that these three wickets were very important. Otherwise, 138 runs wouldn’t have been defended anywhere,” he added.

The right-arm pacer was retained by the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. He featured in 10 matches last season, claiming 9 wickets before a finger fracture ruled him out mid-season