The veteran Indian pacer, Ishant Sharma has been the workhorse of the Test squad for over a decade now. He is known to bowl his heart out, still received a lot of criticism during his international career. He has played some limited-overs cricket as well but due to his tendency to leak runs, he has now been preferred only as a Test bowler. He was the lead pacer when India won the Champions Trophy in 2013 and bowled the eventful over in the final against England that turned the game upside down and India lifted the trophy.
However, Ishant reckons that he has been neglected from the shorter formats and wants to be able to play all the formats. He has played 80 ODIs and picked up 115 wickets at an average of 30 and economy of 5.75. The lanky pacer has featured in 87 Tests and picked up 256 wickets. However, he became a household name during the tour of Australia in 2007 where he made then Australian skipper Ricky Ponting dance to his tunes.
Talking about the same to Times of India, Sharma said, “It hurts to be ignored for limited-overs cricket. I feel bad to be not part of the one-day team. I want to play all three formats. But I can’t control. If I get frustrated and keep thinking that I am just a Test player, then it would affect my Test cricket.”
ALSO READ: Gillespie reveals how Ishant Sharma improved his bowling
However, Ishant is well aware of the fact that age is not on his side and it might as well be his last tour of Australia and thus wants to make a lasting impact and ‘go for a kill’.
Describing his preparations, the pacer said, “I am 30 right now. I don’t know if I will be on the next tour as I will be 34 then. I’ll give whatever I have in me. Anyway, I always go for a kill as you don’t get a second chance playing for your country. I share my experience. I can set the field and tell other bowlers about the lengths to bowl. I try to ensure that once they become seniors, they can be good seniors. I can tell you that I am mature. As you grow old, the body has a lot of wear and tear. It’s all about your mental state.”
Ishant will be in action when Team India will lock horns with the Australian team in the first Test of the four-match series on December 16 in Adelaide.
