Ishant Sharma is having a great run in IPL 2023 on his comeback as he has picked ten wickets from eight matches for Delhi Capitals at an average of 20.60 and an economy of 8.24. The 34-year-old was also awarded Player of the Match during match 28 vs Kolkata Knight Riders as his four-over spell of 2/19 helped DC to restrict KKR to 127 resulting in a four-wicket win.
“I asked Jasprit Bumrah what he thought about my bowling in T20s during the Melbourne Test in 2018. He told me that I have a brilliant length, but I need to develop a slow seam delivery, which would deceive a batter. So thereafter, I worked on delivering the knuckleball,” said Ishant in the DC podcast.
In the ongoing IPL season, Ishant outfoxed Vijay Shankar during match 44 against Gujarat Titans and destroyed his stumps. The delivery got special praise from Harsha Bhogle who said that he was watching it on loop. The right-arm seamer bowled a brilliant spell of 2/23 in four overs and helped his side win the game by five runs.
Further talking about his time away from the game in 2022 when he went unsold at the IPL auction, Sharma said that his passion and love for the game drove him to train hard.
I have not set any expectations for myself: Ishant Sharma
“I’m enjoying my cricket right now. I have not set any expectations for myself and I have nothing to lose. When I went unsold last year, my wife asked me to remind myself why I started playing cricket. Then, my love and passion for the game drove me to train really hard. I have also worked with a fast bowling coach and we spoke about the aspects I can improve on,” Sharma added.