Throughout his long international career, Ishant Sharma has slowly but steadily emerged as one of the hidden gems of Indian cricket. Ishant has emerged as a seasoned fast bowler for the Indian team after a rather mediocre few years, and he is currently leading the charge in Test cricket’s fast bowling department.
From its inception year, the lanky paceman has been associated with the Indian Premier League, and has played for several franchises over the years. He was picked up by the home team Delhi Capitals last season. Ishant, who had stopped being part of the limited overs set up, played his last ODI in 2016 and last T20I in 2013, wasn’t very sure of himself at the start of the season.
Ishant though was inspired to do well following a talk with coach Ricky Ponting, which he revealed with his IPL franchise during a recent Instagram live session.
Ishant, the fast bowler said that, “He is the best coach I have ever met. I was really nervous when I returned to the IPL last season. I almost felt like a debutant walking into the camp on the first day, but Ricky Ponting gave me a lot of confidence from the first day I arrived at the camp.
Ishant recalled in the interview, “He just said to me, ‘You’re a senior player and you should be helping the junior players. Just don’t worry about anything – you’re my first choice.’ And I think that conversation really helped me.”
Ishant finished with 13 wickets in the 2019 tournament, this is his second best IPL performance ever, and was the Delhi Capitals’s pack leader who managed to reach the play-offs after a long gap.
