Image Source : BCCI Ishant is barely two in need of 100 Test appearances and can solely be the second tempo bowler from India to attain that coveted landmark.
Ishant Sharma’s work ethic has been exemplary during the last 14 years, feels Ravichandran Ashwin, who needs to see his India teammate enter the 400-wicket membership and set a bench mark for the rising quicks of this nation.
Ishant, the most-capped Test participant on this present line-up, on Monday, turned the third Indian pacer after Kapil Dev (434 wickets) and Zaheer Khan (311) to achieve the 300-wicket milestone.
“Look, Ishant has been one of the vital hard-working cricketers, that I’ve seen in that Indian crew dressing room.
“He has worked extremely hard, for more than just one reason, because being that tall (6 ft 4 inch) itself requires a lot of facets to be managed through a career which is spanned out through almost 14 years now,” stated Ashwin, who himself, is 14 wickets in need of the 400-mark.
Ishant is barely two in need of 100 Test appearances and can solely be the second tempo bowler from India to attain that coveted landmark.
For Ashwin, that itself is a measure of his achievement.
“Ishant, who went to Australia and got Ricky Ponting out (in 2007-08), and then has gone through so many other tours, had his fair share of injuries, for a fast bowler to get close to 100 Tests in India is not a joke and it is fantastic fantastic achievement,” stated the wily off-spinner.
“I can keep going on and keep complimenting Ishant, but I really wish to see him get to 400 and probably 500 wickets, which should be sort of road map for a lot of Indian quicks going forward.”
So what’s it that makes Ishant Sharma particular as an individual?
“If I’ve to say one thing about Ishant, his largest plus is the smile. He is ever smiling. Even if he’s very drained, he’s smiling.
“Today, I jokingly told him that you won’t get a bowl. He (Ishant) said that’s ok because he was really tired. He is a man with a funny streak,” added Ashwin.