Adam Dury, in one of his recent blog posts on Betway Insider, has had a candid conversation with India’s Ishant Sharma, ahead of the T20 World Cup. When Adam asks Ishant how much he is excited about the upcoming world cup, Ishant says that he is “very excited.”. Ishant acknowledges the fact that all the players in the teams participating in the tournament are in good form.
Sharma goes so far as to say if looked upon from an Indian perspective, he is particularly excited with the fact that their first clash was with none other than, Pakistan. The arch rivalry of India and Pakistan on cricket grounds is a story that everyone knows, and it’s always a treat to watch the teams clashing. However, given the history of the two nations, the players of the two teams always show a good spirit in their games, and audiences love that too. Ishant further says that the two teams do not get a chance of crashing too often (except for in the Asia cup or other global events). Ishant also says the same thing that the players of both teams respect each other, they ‘gel’ together, and freely talk to each other about cricket as well as their families.
Born in 1988, Ishant Sharma (now 34 yrs) is hailed as the next big thing in Indian Cricket. He came in limelight ever since his delivery to Ricky Ponting during India’s tour to Australia in 2008. Mostly a right-arm fast-medium bowler, he has an amazing bowling record across all cricket media. He currently ranks at number 25 among the bowlers in ICC Rankings. That is why, when Adam asks him of what he thinks shall be the deciding factor in winning the world cup, Ishant spontaneously says that the factor is – Bowlers.
Ishant further explains his answer by saying that the Australian grounds are very big, giving more bounce. Therefore, he feels that if Bowlers do manage to use it to their advantage, then they could have huge opportunities there. The Indian pacer further says that it is easy to score runs in T20s, so it is generally the bowlers that shall make the difference between winning and losing.
Further, they discuss the replacement of Jadeja and Bumrah in the Indian team and how likely it shall affect the team as a whole. Ishant praises the batting and fielding abilities of Axar Patel (who has replaced Jadeja) and says that the team was indeed in a good shape. He has been acclaimed for his performance in IPL (Indian Premier League) in the past. Sharma finally concludes by saying that the competition to perform well is really high in the team. A disappointment could evidently lead to replacement. But, Sharma says, the Indian team still has a competitive set of fast bowlers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammad Shami, to name a few.
