Know Your Player – Ishant Sharma
Cricketing milestones, rise through the ranks, trials and tribulations and their glamorous lifestyles – we cover it all in ‘Know Your Player’, a brand-new section aimed at keeping you updated with everything you need to know! In this edition, we take a look at India’s senior-most pace bowler in the longest format, Ishant Sharma. Keep watching this space for a new superstar every time!
The Rise
Born in Delhi, Ishant rose to great heights both physically and in stature at an early age. At the age of 14, he started taking cricket seriously. And four years later, he made his first-class debut for the national capital. Ishant toured England with the India Under-19s in 2006 and Pakistan in 2006–07. He played three youth Tests and six youth One Day Internationals for India.
In May 2007, Sharma was selected in the Test team for the Bangladesh tour and played as a replacement for the fast bowler Munaf Patel. After this, the tall pacer remained in the vicinity of the Indian playing XI but did not make a lasting impact. Then it all turned around for him in the Perth Test of 2008.
Replacing injured Zaheer Khan, Sharma bowled a marathon spell to Ricky Ponting eventually succeeding in getting him out. The spell established the pacer in the cricketing folklore and soon saw him getting plenty of opportunities. He was bought for a winning bid of $950,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2008 player auction for the Indian Premier League. This was the highest amount paid for any bowler in the tournament.
In the coming years, Sharma had many ups and downs in his career. Later, he became a specialist in the longest format of the game while India’s pace brigade grew by multifold in the limited-overs cricket.
IPL Exploits
Although a lot was expected from Ishant in the Indian Premier League, he has not delivered in proportion to his bowling talent. He even went unsold for the 2018 IPL auction. Thus far, he has played in 93 matches while claiming 73 wickets at an economy of 8.09. He has represented a total of six teams in the T20 league. He is currently a part of the Delhi Capitals setup.
Career Highlights
Off The Field
Sharma keeps a low profile off the field. On 10 December 2016, he married Indian basketball player Pratima Singh.
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