IND vs AUS: Pacer Ishant Sharma Starts Bowling Full Tilt at NCA

IND vs AUS: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly recently had said that they are expecting Ishant Sharma to get fit before the first Test in Adelaide.

A piece of good news is coming for Indian cricket team, experienced pacer Ishant Sharma, who was ruled out of IPL 2020 after playing just one game for Delhi Capitals due to a ‘left internal oblique muscle tear’ has started bowling at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under the guidance of Director and former India captain Rahul Dravid.

The 32-year-old was a part of Delhi based franchise in just concluded 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but he couldn’t make his journey successful as he had to pull out of the tournament after playing single match due to injury.

Keeping his injury in mind, he was not included in the Indian Test Squad and his participation in the 4-match Test series against Australia is subject to him clearing the fitness test and also to board’s ability to charter him to Australia.

In a video posted by ESPNcricinfo the lanky speedster can be seen bowling under rhe observation of NCA director Rahul Dravid and head physio Ashish Kaushik. The video shows Ishant Sharma bending his back effortlessly.

Earlier, the president of BCCI, Sourav Ganguly stated that the board was expecting India pacer Ishant Sharma to recover before the first Test match in Australia which starts from December 17 in Adelaide.

“Yes, we are expecting Ishant to be back for the Test matches,” Ganguly told PTI. “He has already started bowling from shorter run-ups and short spells. He has bowled at NCA. But as there is a BCCI protocol for fast bowlers, Ishant will be playing the two first-class games in Australia.

“Injuries are a part of sport and it will happen. The lesser you play, the more injured you will get. The more you keep playing, your body gets fitter, stronger and you will get less injured. All of them came back after seven months of being locked at home with literally no activity. I don’t think injuries should be looked at like ‘Oh god, something is not right’,” Ganguly added.

Chance to Emulate Kapil Dev

Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma is just 3 games away from touching a milestone. He is just 3 games away to complete his 100 Test Matches. If he will achieve this feat in Australia, he’ll become only the second pacer after legendary Kapil Dev to feature in the 100 Test matches.

He is also three wickets shy of reaching 300 wickets, which will also be a landmark achievement even though the slowest among all speedsters who have touched this milestone.