Ishant Sharma, an Indian bowler, spoke candidly about his first encounter with the Indian locker room. He claimed that at first, he felt as though he was a goat trapped in a den of lions, but that eventually, he began to feel at ease.
In Indian cricket, Ishant Sharma is held in very high regard. The lanky paceman from Delhi has been a tremendous asset to the Indian squad, bowling numerous match-winning spells throughout the years, with the finest ones occurring in the Champions Trophy in 2013 and the Test at Lord’s against England in 2014.
Ishant Sharma, one of the bowlers with 100 Test appearances for India, made his debut in May 2007 against Bangladesh as Munaf Patel’s replacement. He has seen highs and lows during his career, but while Virat Kohli was captain, he looked very dangerous and was in charge of the assault.
Ishant Sharma claimed he wanted to sit at the feet of every icon when he first entered the dressing room, but once Zaheer Khan instructed him to calm down, he felt at ease.
He further explained: “I used to sit with Zak and watch them on TV, and now I’m suddenly sharing the room with them,” he told Jio Cinema. Even though I wanted to go lay down, I managed to restrain myself. I lacked the guts to say anything. Both RP Singh and Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) were present.
“I found myself in a situation where lions were around a goat. Zak encouraged me to calm down and relax after imagining what I was going through. I was sitting silently in a corner after that, but I felt much more at ease.
Ishant Sharma recalls his first game: “My toe kept hurting, but I didn’t care.”
Ishant Sharma continued by recounting an incident from his first game. He confessed that he wasn’t prepared when then-captain Rahul Dravid informed him that he would be making his debut and needed a pair of shoes, so he asked Zaheer Khan for them.
Ishant Sharma continued, “It was overwhelming for me to play alongside the legends of the game,” despite the fact that his toes kept hurting. Added him:
“When Rahul Dravid informed me that I had to make my debut tomorrow, I retaliated, ‘But I can’t play barefoot!'” I did not even work out. I requested a pair of size 11 shoes from Zak (Zaheer Khan) so I could participate in the game. My toe continued to pain even after he handed me some shoes, but I didn’t care.
“I don’t recall much because I was preoccupied with my shoes, attire, and upcoming game. But the Bangladesh series, where I played my first Test, sticks in my mind. It was overwhelming to share a dressing room with Paaji (Harbhajan Singh), Rahul (Saurav Ganguly), Dada (Yuvraj Singh), and Wasim (Wasim Jaffer).
Ishant Sharma last appeared for India in a match against New Zealand in 2021. Since then, he has been sidelined, and Mohammed Siraj has taken advantage of both of his opportunities.
