WI v IND 2019: Ishant Sharma intends to not lose focus over 100 Tests milestone

Ishant is the most experienced member of this Indian Test side with 92 caps.


Ishant has been a fantastic bowler for India | Getty

Ishant Sharma just played his 92nd Test for India in the Caribbean and is now only eight more Test caps away from becoming one of the country's only few speedsters to play 100 games in prestigious whites. 

However, the 31-year-old pacer, also the most-capped player in the current Indian Test side, said while it would be a great achievement, he isn't yet thinking along those lines at all and is focussed only on the present. 

"I remember few years back, Zaheer was telling me something about 100 Tests but then he didn’t also complete the milestone (92 Tests). I mean if I play another 4-5 years, yes I might complete but I don’t want to think about it," Ishant, who went past Kapil Dev with the most number of wickets by an Indian pacer outside Asia, told broadcaster Sony while playing the second Test against West Indies in Jamaica. 

"I believe if you start thinking too far ahead, then you can get confused, so it is better to start taking one Test match at a time. Now I am able to move the ball away from the left-hander coming from round the wicket," he added. 

Ishant took 11 wickets in India's 2-0 series whitewash over the Calypso Kings and also became the third-highest Indian pace wicket-taker with 278 scalps behind Kapil Dev (434 wickets) and Zaheer Khan (311 wickets).

Ishant then heaped effusive praise on his pace partner Jasprit Bumrah and said: "Boom is fantastic. Even before we are well warmed up into our spell, he is getting five or six wickets. I jokingly tell him that please wait tell we get warmed up,"

(Inputs from PTI)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 03 Sep, 2019

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