"Numbers never excited me": Indian pacer Ishant Sharma
Aug 11, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 11 : Indian pacer Ishant Sharma admitted that numbers and landmarks in cricket never excited him.
In Part 1 of his interview on Home of Heroes on JioCinema, India fast bowler Ishant Sharma takes viewers back in time to his origins as a bowler in Delhi's youth cricket circles, shares how his bowling skills may just be a gift passed down from his father, and how his height and 'mohalla' team helped him rise through the ranks.
The 34-year-old pacer has achieved various landmarks and one of them includes playing 100 Test matches for the Indian team.
"To be honest, numbers never excited me. The one thing that kept me going was the burning desire to play. The joy of playing, even if it was tennis-ball cricket where I would get paid Rs 500 to bowl, that was different. It made me feel like the richest person in the world. To be very honest, up until 30 Tests, I did not understand strike rate or average. Much later in my career, I realized that statistics were crucial to have a long career," Ishant said.
Ishant further went on to talk about how he was introduced to cricket at a young age and what inspired him to become a cricketer.
"I’ve heard from my grandfather and uncle that my father was a very good fast bowler. I don’t know, I never saw it, so I used to be like ‘What are you saying’. My father was a very good fast bowler in school, but he had five brothers and family responsibilities meant he couldn’t pursue cricket as a career. So, I used to go with my uncle to watch matches. So, I was introduced to cricket at a very young age. After that, I was taken to tournaments around my house. Then I got introduced to playing tennis ball cricket where for my height they expected me to be a bowler," Ishant added.
Ishant has had a memorable stint with the Indian team in Test as well as the ODI formats. His most remarkable performance came in the Test format against England in 2015. India were yet to win a test away from home since playing in Lords’ in 2011. With England in full control of the game, Ishant came in to produce one of the spells of a lifetime. The entire crowd present at the Lord's were blown away as Ishant ended the game with the figure of 7-74 to end India's drought.
