Amid lockdown, cricketers are spending time at their homes and heading towards social media to interact with fans and followers. In the process, India’s frontline Test bowler Ishant Sharma participated in a chat show on YouTube hosted by sports presenter Gaurav Kapur.
The Delhi-born bowler talked about various aspects of his life and answered a lot of questions. During the chat, Ishant recalled a memorable moment from the IPL 2019, when he completed the challenge thrown to him by none other than the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni.
Ishant revealed that Dhoni used to tease him that he doesn’t have the power to hit a six. Ishant said that one day he was facing all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and he hit him for a four followed by a six and then turned around to see Dhoni. The speedster stated that Dhoni was annoyed with Jadeja after seeing his short cameo.
“Last year in the IPL, Mahi bhai (Dhoni) used to make fun of me that I can’t hit sixes, saying you don’t have that ability. Then came Jaddu (Jadeja) and I punished him for a four and then I launched a six. Then I turned my head towards Mahi bhai to see his reaction, who looked irritated with Jaddu.”
After listening to the funny story, Gaurav asked Ishant whether he remembers batting stats more than his bowling figures.
Ishant responded to the question humorously and said bowling is like a daily routine work, but batting gives me a lot of pleasure.
“Bowling to roz ka kaam hai, mazdoor wali feeling aati hai (Bowling is like a daily routine work, I feel like a labourer), but in batting, I feel like a king.”
The 31-year-old recently showcased his outstanding bowling skills during India’s tour of New Zealand. The right-armer took a fifer in the first Test against Kiwis. It was his 11th five-wicket haul in the red-ball format. The lanky pacer has so far taken 297 wickets in Tests, 115 in ODIs and 8 in T20Is.
