His teammates fondly refer to Ishant Sharma as ‘Lambu,’ meaning ‘Tall guy’. The Delhi-born player has a lean and tall build standing at 6’4”. Unlike other players who got serious about cricket before they were 10, Ishant decided to pursue cricket only at 14. Like many other Indian players, Ishant got noticed when he played Ranji Trophy. Then, he made his debut for Delhi when he was 18. His high-arm action enables him to bowl at close to 140 kph, which spelled trouble for the Aussies in 2008 when India toured Australia. Ishant dismissed the captain of the Australian side six times in seven matches. On February 12, 2008, Ishant bowled the fastest ball by an Indian player when he clocked 152.6km/h against Australia.
So, who is Ishant Sharma?
Ishant Sharma decided to make a career out of cricket when he realized he had a talent for it when he was 14 years old. He was an instant sensation and moved up the ranks quite quickly. By 18, Ishant made his debut for Delhi and soon his Test debut against Bangladesh in May 2007. On his second Test, he had bowling figures of 5/140 against Pakistan.
The 2008 Indian tour of Australia was the most noteworthy of Ishant’s performances. His bowling made Aussie captain Ricky Ponting look like his bunny when Ishant dismissed him six times in seven Test matches. In addition, Ishant was named the Man of the Series as he picked up 15 wickets during that tour.
2009 was not a good year for Ishant as he performed terribly and finished poorly in that season. However, in 2013, Ishant picked up ten wickets at the ICC Champions Trophy. Later in 2014, he played in three Test matches and performed well. Therefore, he was chosen for the ICC World Cup 2015, but he couldn’t play because of a knee injury.
As if things couldn’t get any worse for Ishant, he underwent ankle surgery in 2012 and could not play for a while. The selectors let him play in the Test squad when he returned, but his performance was mediocre.
He also had a knee injury that kept him out of the ICC World Cup in 2015. This slowed him down so that he went down the pecking order for the Indian team.
Although Ishant Sharma didn’t start his career as early as his counterparts in the game, he has shown exemplary displays. His record proves that he will continue to be a valuable player in whichever team he joins in the IPL.
