The return of Ishant Sharma to Team India will now be nothing short of a miracle. The doors of Team India are almost closed for this player. He has been dropped from Team India by the selection committee of the BCCI. No one will be surprised if this player announces his retirement soon after the IPL if he doesn’t get picked in overseas series.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma, once considered the biggest weapon of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is now going through a difficult phase of his career. Ishant Sharma’s career is almost coming to an end under Rohit’s captaincy. Ishant Sharma is not getting a chance in Team India under the captaincy of Rohit. He overturned in the final match of 2013 Champions Trophy against England in a single over, with the help of which India won the big tournament.
Now the primary choice of Team India has become a trio of fast bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj. Apart from this, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have become the favourites of the Indian team management as the fourth fast bowler.
Senior fast bowler Ishant Sharma has been failing miserably for a long time. Ishant Sharma was last seen in the Kanpur Test against New Zealand in November 2021. He could not get a single wicket in that match. The countdown to Ishant Sharma’s career had already begun on the tour of England in August 2021, when he took only 5 wickets in 3 Test matches.
Competition is increasing continuously in Team India. Bowlers like Shami, Bumrah and Siraj are doing well in the test format. In such a situation, Ishant Sharma’s leaf has been cut from Team India. Ishant has played more than 100 Tests, in which he has taken 311 wickets.
Senior fast bowler Ishant Sharma started his career in the year 2007 with a Test match against Bangladesh and the very next month Ishant got an opportunity to make his ODI debut. Ishant has played 80 ODIs so far, in which he was successful in taking 115 wickets, although Sharma was not so successful in T20 cricket. Ishant’s ODI career can be said to be good, but the selectors have not given him a chance to play in a single ODI match since 2016.
On special occasions, he has failed to utilise his experience. Ishant hasn’t played much Test cricket for a long time. He does not play in the IPL nor was part of the T20 World Cup. Such a long break has had an effect on him. Ishant has taken just eight wickets in the last four Tests in 109.2 overs. It is clear from this that now this player has only the option of retirement.
Recently there was news from BCCI that Ishant Sharma’s career is slowly moving towards the end. A BCCI source said, “Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammad Siraj are now ranked first, second and third respectively among the top bowlers.
Next comes Shardul Thakur, who is an all-rounder and Umesh Yadav is the fifth-choice bowler. It is clear from this that now Ishant Sharma has only the option of retirement. Ishant Sharma was not selected even in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which shows that he does not have much time now.