Veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma who only plays red-ball cricket in recent times said that winning the World Test Championship is similar to winning the ICC Cricket World Cup in the 50-over format. Sharma is on 99 Tests currently and the third Test match against England at the newly built Motera stadium will be his 100th. Hailed as a red-ball specialist for India, Ishant played his last ODI for India in 2016 and his last T20I way back in 2013.
He spoke to the reporters about the build-up to the third and historic Test match and shared his thoughts in the same as well. Speaking about the big milestone and his ambitions with the national team, Ishant Sharma admitted that he is looking at the Test Championship just like a World Cup.
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World Test Championship Is Like World Cup For Me: Ishant Sharma
“There’s a lot of time for 131 (Kapil Dev’s Test mark). Right now, I am only thinking about how we can win the next test. And then the next so that we can qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. I only play one format, so the WTC is like a World Cup for me. If we reach the final and then go on to win it, it will be the same feeling as winning the ICC World Cup,” Ishant said.
The veteran Indian pacer also reflected on his fair share of injuries that he has dealt with in his career so far. Ishant, however, prefers to focus on what he can do and his immediate future rather than mulling over the factors he could not control.
“The sooner you forget things and move on in life, the better it is for you. This is the biggest lesson I have learned,” he added.
He further said that he takes one Test at a time and playing till the age of 38 years like England pacer James Anderson is not his concern right now.
“Thirty-eight is difficult to say as of now. I just go one test at a time. I understand my body, what kind of training I need to do. I am looking after myself.”
Tickets have been sold out for the third Test match at the new Motera. The stadium was closed after 2015 due to reconstruction work. The work is now complete and the stadium is ready to host over 1 lakh spectators with state-of-the-art facilities both for the cricketers and the fans.
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