“Don’t care whether I’m wanted or unwanted”: Ishant Sharma remarks he’s stopped paying heed on possibility regarding IPL and India comeback

Team India and Delhi fast bowler Ishant Sharma did not turn up in the second innings to bowl for his team during the first match of their ongoing Ranji Trophy season against Maharashtra. Resultantly, Maharashtra prevailed over Delhi with a one-sided, nine wicket defeat.

The injury suffered by the tall, fast bowler was serious enough for him to return back to Delhi, and with it perhaps miss more than half the number of matches this season.

What this injury has also meant that, with the mini auction ahead of IPL 2023 being just four days away, Ishant might likely remain unsold during the auction akin the mega auction last year.

For those unaware, the 34-year-old was part of the list of 273 Indian players listed by the BCCI a few days ago, who will take part in the auction process. Ishant had gotten himself registered under the base price bracket of INR 75 Lakhs.

While he might well recover from the injury by the time IPL commences with its new season, the injury might well become a turn-off for the franchises looking for fast bowlers in their squad.

Ishant Sharma remarks he’s stopped paying heed on possibility regarding IPL and India comeback

During an interaction with The Hindu, Ishant Sharma explicitly stated the fact that he is not perturbed one bit, regarding his return back into the Indian team, or whether the IPL franchises do show interest in availing his services in the upcoming season.

The pacer in fact explicitly stated that he just wishes to enjoy his Cricket at the moment, and that is the only reason he has played matches in all the three formats for his domestic side in the recent past.

“I just enjoy my life. I don’t care about whether I am wanted or unwanted anywhere. I am still playing this game because I love playing cricket. When I started bowling fast, I did so because I enjoyed it, not because someone wanted or someone disliked me. Honestly, I don’t care about all these things and don’t want to care about it either,” remarked Ishant.

Ishant remained unsold during the mega auction this February, while played only four matches during the previous two IPL seasons for the Delhi Capitals.

It also seems curtains for him with regards to his Test career, after he was dropped along with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, and Ajinkya Rahane ahead of the home Test series versus Sri Lanka in March 2022.