Ishant Sharma - International Career

International Career

In May 2007, he was selected in the test team for the Bangladesh tour and played as a replacement for the fast bowler Munaf Patel. Over there he played for his national side in the second test where he bowled three overs including one maiden and conceded only five runs without taking a wicket. Later on, he was called for the tour of England in July–August 2007.

Ishant Sharma got a call back in the team in the 3rd Test Match during Pakistan's tour of India in December 2007 due to injury of India's frontline pacers Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, and Sreesanth. Sharma picked up 5 wickets during the third test in Bangalore. This performance earned him a place in India's squad for the tour of Australia.

Sharma was left out in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as India retained their main fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan and RP Singh. However, in January 2008 Sharma was called to represent India once again to replace the injured Zaheer Khan in the second test at the SCG. Sharma started the first day of the match strongly and was involved in a controversial decision from Steve Bucknor when Andrew Symonds nicked the ball to keeper MS Dhoni off his bowling but was given not out. He bowled reasonably in the match, however without much luck.

Although he had little success, the management retained him for the third Test match at Perth. On the fourth day of the match he bowled an exceptional spell to Australian captain Ricky Ponting that resulted in his wicket and helped India claim victory. He used the pace and bounce of the WACA wicket to trouble the batsmen. In the following test played in Adelaide he picked up two wickets and impressed everyone with his bowling. He finished the tour of Australia with figures of 6/358, an average of 59.66 and a strike rate of 101.0.

On 10 February 2008, Sharma bagged four important wickets in the 4th ODI of CB Series against Australia. He ended the match with figures of 4/38 and named man of the match. He scalped two important wickets on 18 February 2008 versus Australia in the 7th ODI of CB series.

During the 2008 Test series against Australia in India, Ishant was the leading wicket-taker, with 16, and was named man-of-the-series as India won 2–0. He thereby became the first Indian paceman to win such an award in a Test series on Indian soil after Kapil Dev who won the award in 1983. He was noted for achieving reverse swing on balls sometimes as young as eight overs, and along with senior opening bowler Zaheer Khan, troubled the touring Australians. He took Australian captain Ricky Ponting's wicket three times during the series, and six times in as many Tests, making the Indian press label Ponting as Ishant's bunny.

However, in 2009, Ishant's form slumped, and he was dropped for the second Test against Sri Lanka, replaced by Sreesanth.

On 5 October 2010, Ishant helped VVS Laxman pull off a highly unlikely win over Australia by one wicket in the first Test in Mohali after India had fallen to 8/124 in pursuit of 205. Ishant provided Laxman with support during an 81-run partnership in which he contributed 31 valuable runs.

In the 2011 IPL auction, Sharma was bought by the Deccan Chargers; he hoped that his performance in the competition would give him a chance to impress selectors and push for selection in India's ODI team. From 12 matches, Sharma took 11 wickets at an average of 28.54. A month after the IPL, which was held in April and May, India toured the West Indies for five ODIs and three Tests. Several senior players were rested from the ODI side and others absent through injury; this mostly affected the batsmen but Zaheer Khan missed the ODI series. India won the first three ODIs, and Sharma was called into the team for the fourth, his first ODI since August 2010. He managed one wicket from two matches in the series while concceding 109 runs. The first Test resulted in a win for India and Sharma took three wickets in each innings. He claimed his 100th Test wicket in the second Test, becoming the fifth youngest to reach the landmark; the fixture was also the first time he took ten wickets in a match for India. The second and third Tests ended in draws and India won the series 1–0; Sharma was the leading wicket-taker on either side with 22 dismissals at an average of 16.86.

After the tour of West Indies, India suffer a run of eight consecutive defeats in away Tests. In July and August the team played four Tests in England. England inflicted a 4–0 whitewash on India, and in the process replaced India as No. 1 ranked Test team. Playing in all four matches, Sharma managed 11 wickets at an average pushing 60. During the series Sharma suffered an anckle injury and missed the ODI leg, but was sufficiently reovered to face the West Indies in November when India hosted them for three Tests. While India won 2–0, Sharma managed five wickets from three matches at a cost of in excess of 65 runs each. Sharma played in all four Tests of India's tour of Australia in 2011–12. India lost the series 4–0, while Sharma took five wickets at the cost of 451 runs.

In March 2012, Sharma underwent surgery on his ankle which had been troubling him for over a year. The operation meant that he missed the 2012 IPL.