Ishant Vijay Sharma, a tall, lanky pace bowler with a slender frame and a head full of hair flinging all over the field, steaming into bowl to potentially Australia’s best batsman Ricky Ponting and consistently bouncing him out on Australia’s pacy wickets is perhaps the most vivid recollection cricket fans have of Ishant Sharma when he first appeared.
Ishant Vijay Sharma, the tallest Indian to have ever represented India in international cricket, makes the most of his stature. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler who bats right-handed and stands 6 feet 4 in tall.
In just 70 matches, he reached 100 wickets, and in 53 tests, he reached 150 wickets, becoming the 11th Indian bowler to do so. He went on to win the Man of the Series award twice, once in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test Series in 2008/09 and again in the West Indies Test Series in 2011.
Records
The fifth-fastest player to reach 100 Test wickets.
To 250 Test wickets, he is the second slowest.
Awards
In 2020, he won the coveted Arjuna Award.
Career
Domestic Career
Ishant Sharma debuted for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy at the age of 18 and quickly rose through the ranks of success. In 2006, Ishant toured England with the India Under-19s, and in 2006–07, he toured Pakistan with the Pakistan Under-19s. He played three youth tests and six youth One Day Internationals for India, catching the eye of Indian selectors and progressing to the senior side. Ishant has so far taken 451 wickets in 138 first-class games while playing for Delhi.
IPL Career
In his 13-year career, Ishant Sharma has worn the jerseys of many IPL franchises. Ishant has arguably seen every nook and cranny of the IPL, from Kolkata Knight Riders to Deccan Chargers to Sunrisers Hyderabad to Rising Pune Supergiant to Kings XI Punjab to now his home state Delhi Capitals.
Ishant never fully mastered the IPL format, as shown by the frequent change of teams. With Ishant beginning to pitch the ball higher in Tests and seeing a significant increase in results, 2020 may be his breakthrough year in the IPL.
International Career
Ishant Sharma was called up to the Indian squad for the 2006–07 tour of South Africa at the age of 18. However, after getting the call and arranging transport, it was agreed that he would not be sent on the trip.
Ishant was selected in the test team for the Bangladesh tour in May 2007 as a substitute for Munaf Patel, the fast bowler. He bowled three overs, one of which was a maiden, and conceded five runs without taking a wicket in the second test.
Ishant Sharma’s now-famous spell against Australia’s Ricky Ponting in the Test in Perth during India’s tour to Australia in late 2007 has gotten a lot of attention. Ishant, a 19-year-old, giving Ponting a difficult time in the middle by bowling outside off-stump and eventually getting him caught at slip. In seven innings, he struck out Ponting six times.
His form slipped after a strong 2008, when he took 38 wickets in 13 Tests, and he only managed 43 wickets in 15 Tests over the next two years. He’d throw a brilliant spell here and a ripper of a delivery there, but there was little quality in his delivery.
In 2011, he made a comeback, taking 43 wickets in 12 Tests, including two five-wicket hauls, all during India’s tour of the West Indies. In reality, with 22 wickets in three matches, he was the series’ leading wicket-taker, and it seemed that Ishant was back on track.
However, Ishant Sharma’s comeback was cut short due to an ankle injury. Ishant Sharma 2.0, on the other hand, has recently shocked everyone with his results.
Ishant took a wicket once every 64 full-length deliveries between 2015 and 2017. But, since 2018, he’s only struck out once in every 26 pitches.
In this time frame, Ishant’s average is higher than Kagiso Rabada, James Anderson, Trent Boult, Stuart Broad, and Josh Hazlewood’s.
Ishant Sharma made his limited-overs debut against South Africa on June 29, 2007, and had a quiet start to his career.
Ishant demonstrated his true prowess in the shorter format in the ODI series that followed his breakthrough Test series. In one contest, he also hit the ball at a speed of 153 km/h. Ishant was India’s leading wicket-taker in that series, with 14 wickets, and one of the reasons for their successful campaign (CB series).
However, due to wrist placement issues, fractures, and a slowing tempo, he was forced to leave the team. His performance in limited-overs cricket deteriorated sharply. He turned into a liability by bowling too many hit-me balls that were strewn around the park.
Perhaps his worst effort during this period was when he was bowled for 30 runs in an over by James Faulkner at the end of an ODI against Australia in Mohali in 2013, when India was on the verge of winning the game.
Ishant last played an ODI for India in 2016 and has struggled to get into the squad due to stiff competition.
Ishant Sharma never really got going in the international T20 arena, despite possessing all the ingredients to be a great T20 bowler. Ishant Sharma has only played 14 T20Is in his 13-year international career, taking eight wickets at an average of 50.
Family
Ishant Sharma, also known as Lambu, was born on September 2, 1988, in Delhi, to Vijay and Grisha Sharma. Pratima Singh, a former Indian women’s basketball player, is his wife. In 2020, the Delhi-pacer won the prestigious Arjuna Award for his 13-year contribution to Indian cricket.