The veteran Indian pacer, Ishant Sharma has been eyeing to make a comeback in the ODI squad as he wants to feature in the World Cup-winning team. Ishant played his last ODI for India in January 2016. He has played 80 ODIs and managed to scalp 115 wickets at an average of 30.98. The speedster has been in great touch in the recent longest format series.
During a recent podcast with ESPNCricinfo with Deep Dasgupta, Ishant said, “Actually, I want to be part of a World Cup-winning team, as it will be a different feeling altogether. We are playing the World Test Championship, which is equivalent to a World Cup in Test cricket, but you realize that not a lot of people follow it, while an ODI World Cup is widely followed.”
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The 31-year-old right-arm fast bowler has played 97 Tests and managed to scalp 297 wickets at an average of 32.39. Ishant is just three wickets short from joining the 300-wicket club in the Test cricket. He also asserted that the stats had never bothered him, so long as his communication with the captain was on point.
Ishant explained, “MS Dhoni always backed me. Even after my first 50-60 Tests, he never said we’ll look for someone to replace you. To tell you the truth, even after playing 97 Tests, I still don’t understand things like average and strike rate! I’ve never bothered about these things. If I’m not able to understand them, why should I rely on them? It’s just a number after all.”
He further added, “If I am bowling in India and the captain tells me to bowl in a way that I concede only 40 runs in 20 overs and that the spinners will take care of picking up wickets, that’s what is important to me. It doesn’t matter to me that my bowling average is around 37. My communication will be with my captain and that’s why Dhoni backed me.”
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Ishant is expected to get back on teh field when he can be seen playing for Delhi Capitals at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. The tournament will be held across three venues in UAE –Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
