A bowling all rounder, he played as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler and captained his state, Haryana.
First class
Sharma made his first-class debut for Haryana against Madhya Pradesh in the 2002/03 Ranji Trophy, hitting 81 before taking 11/84 to lead Haryana to a 103 run victory. He had made his debut in the limited over domestic arena the season before. Sharma finished his debut season with 24 wickets at 17.41 and 280 runs at 46.66 He followed this with 148 runs at 68.51 and 23 wickets at 23.39 in 2003/04 Ranji season. He was selected for the North Zone team for the Duleep Trophy, and took 6/59 in a match against West Zone during the victorious campaign.
National attention
Sharma gained national attention in a match for India A against the national team at Bangalore, when he dismissed Rahul Dravid, V. V. S. Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. He also played for the Rest of India side, which defeated Mumbai in the Irani Trophy. Having scored two successive centuries, and securing a 14/116 in the 2004/05 Ranji Trophy against Vidarbha, Sharma won his place in the Indian side for the Bangladesh tour. He had limited batting opportunities, scoring 34 in two brief knocks at the end of the innings without being dismissed, but his bowling was ineffective, taking 1/99, and was dropped after playing in that ODI series. He ended the Ranji Trophy with 36 wickets, the second highest at 15.47 and 472 runs at 52. In 2005/06, he topped the Duleep Trophy bowling averages.
Domestic season
Sharma performed strongly in the 2006/07 Indian domestic season to bring himself into contention for national selection. His batting for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy yielded 421 runs in three matches, and he was subsequently the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, taking 39 wickets in seven matches, as well as two ten-wicket hauls and a hat-trick. Despite being unable to prevent Haryana from being relegated to the Plate division, he was recalled in January 2007 to the team at the expense of Irfan Pathan for the ODI series against the West Indies. He was selected for the second ODI in Cuttack, but after scoring 1 and failing to take a wicket, Pathan was immediately recalled and Sharma dropped. Sharma was not named in the Indian squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
International Career
Sharma found a place for himself in the 2007 World Twenty20 in South Africa. He bowled the final over of the semi final against Australia, with Michael Hussey facing and Australia needing 22 runs to win, taking two wickets as India won by 15 runs. He also bowled the final over in the final against Pakistan with thirteen runs required and only one wicket in hand. His first ball went for a wide and the next was borderline but not called by the umpire. The third was a full toss which was pulled straight back over his head for six by Misbah-ul-Haq. Then he delivery out side off stump which Misbah attempted to scoop the ball over the fine leg fielder from the fourth ball but mistimed it and was caught by Sreesanth, giving India the win. The Haryana government announced a cash reward of for Joginder Sharma in recognition of his contribution to the Indian victory.
