India and Australia had played a highly entertaining and high-scoring bilateral ODI series in 2013 which saw Rohit Sharma and George Bailey both making over 450 runs each in 6 matches played and bowlers went for lots of runs, as teams chased down the 350-runs target with ease.
During one such match, James Faulkner scored one of the best half-centuries in Mohali. The Kangaroos needed 44 runs in the last 18 balls and skipper MS Dhoni gave the ball to Ishant Sharma. Unfortunately, Faulkner smashed Ishant for 30 runs in that over, practically ending the match and won the Player of the Match for his 64 off 29 balls that helped Australia chase down 304 and take a 2-1 lead.
Ishant Sharma felt that he had betrayed his country with his performance as he recalled the horror show in ESPNCricinfo’s show Cricketbaazi.
Ishant Sharma expresses desire to be a part of ODI World Cup-winning team
“The turning point of my life came in 2013. Faulkner hit me for 30 runs in one over in an ODI in Mohali that Australia went on to win. At that time I felt I had betrayed myself and my country,” revealed Ishant and mentioned that he cried for two weeks.
“For two-three weeks, I didn’t speak to anyone. I cried a lot. I am a very tough guy. My mother says she hasn’t seen a tougher person than me. [But] I called my girlfriend and cried on the phone like a child. Those three weeks were like a nightmare. I stopped eating. I couldn’t sleep or do anything else. You switch on the television and people are criticizing you, which messes you up even more,” said Ishant.
Ishant, who is just 3 wickets short of taking 300 wickets in Tests and is the leader of the Indian bowling, said that he started things seriously from there onwards.
“I laugh about it now and I consider it a blessing in disguise. Sometimes you need a jolt to understand your passion. After the Faulkner incident, I went through major changes in my life. After 2013, I started taking things seriously. Before that, if I had a bad performance, people would come and tell me ‘It’s okay, it happens.’ But after 2013, if someone came to me and said that, I wouldn’t listen. If I have made a mistake, I have made a mistake. I started taking responsibility for my actions. When you do that, you play every match to win it for the team,” he said.
