The tall and lanky fast bowler Ishant Sharma has come a long way in international cricket. From toiling with Ricky Ponting in his debut series in Australia to lead India’s India’s Test attack, the journey has been inspiring. Recently, Ishant Sharma revealed a funny incident from his debut ODI series against South Africa in Ireland.
Notably, the selectors initially didn’t pick Ishant for that series but recalled him later. Instead, he got a chance for the Test series against England. It was when he was chilling at home, Ishant Sharma got a call from the management that he will have to fly for his debut ODI series.
Speaking to teammate Mayank Agarwal for a chat, the cricketer from Delhi recalled how he was shivering due to extreme cold. He also added that as many as six-seven Indian cricketers fell sick due to the adverse temperatures.
“I was named for the England Test series but not picked for ODI series in England. I was 17 years old, I was chilling at home and had no expectations,” he said.
“Then, I received I call that I have to come to Ireland to play in the ODIs. I tell you, my friend, that it was so cold there, it was like ice for us. So many people including MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa and RP Singh fell ill due to the change of weather conditions. At least, 6-7 people fell ill,” Ishant recalled.
Ishant recalls a funny incident from his ODI debut series
Adding further, Ishant Sharma revealed a funny incident that a mix-up with his luggage on the way to the hotel created a confusion before he could come down to bowl at the nets. He didn’t have his shoes for practice and eventually had to borrow from a teammate to play his first game.
“Everyone was at the practice, I was just standing there. And then Rahul Dravid came up to me and asked ‘Ishant why are you not bowling’. I nervously muttered something and he said ‘what’,” Ishant said laughing.
“So, I said ‘Rahul bhai, mere bag hi nahi aaya hai (my luggage has not arrived)’. He said ‘what does that mean’? I said ‘I put in the flight, but I have not received them’. Rahul Dravid asked me that how will I play the match tomorrow. I was shocked again,” he further said. “I borrowed shoes from Zaheer Khan and played my first ODI match against South Africa,” Ishant concluded.
