Soon After Remaining Benched For Entirety Of U-19 World Cup 2006, Ishant Sharma Was Punished By Vice-Principal For Maintaining Long Hair

In a country which prides itself for its love and passion for cricket, making it to the India’s Under-19 squad certainly has in it for one to wear it as a badge of honour. Despite making the cut, pacer Ishant Sharma, during an interaction with YouTuber Vikram Sathaye, had revealed how supposedly mean his school’s vice-principal had been to him for failing to adhere to its discipline standards.

A rare opportunity bestowed upon a selected few cricketers once in two years, the veteran player was one of those who had toured Sri Lanka for a world event in 2006. Only a 17-year-old boy back then, the Delhi-speedster returned back to his school perhaps with his head held high and a chest brimming with confidence. However, little had he known that he would be greeted with an embarrassing insult during the school assembly.

Ishant Sharma Was Punished By Vice-Principal For Maintaining Long Hair

Featuring in an episode of Vikram Sathaye’s popular chat show named What the Duck, Ishant had revealed how he was punished for maintaining long hair. However, it was the manner of punishment which he apparently felt was unwarranted for someone who had just represented his country abroad.

Dragging him outside the assembly line with the help of a firm grip of his long hair, the vice-principal had made Ishant a laughing stock before the entire school.

“Our vice-principal had ordered the ones with long hair to fall out of the assembly line. I kept standing at the back quietly despite very well knowing that I was the tallest back then as well. So, I was grabbed by my hair and dragged outside the assembly. Obviously, I was ashamed that for a person who has just returned featuring in the U-19 World Cup is being punished in such a manner, that too, in front of the entire assembly! But still, I didn’t have a haircut [laughs]”

Ishant Sharma Had Warmed The Bench Throughout ICC U-19 World Cup 2006

One short of playing 200 matches across formats for India, Sharma hadn’t been able to play a single match during that competition. The other two pacers in the squad in Yo Mahesh and Abu Nechim Ahmed had played all the six matches of the tournament, but neither could later make it to the senior Indian men’s side.

Ishant, on the other hand, went on to feature across a total of 10 U-19 50-over matches post the World Cup which was played 17 years ago. Playing against teams such as Pakistan (3 matches), New Zealand (1 match), England (5 matches), and Sri Lanka (1 match), he picked up 12 wickets at an average of 21.75 during his age-group career.

Although he couldn’t play ICC U-19 World Cup 2008 due to the age factor, Ishant had already made his international debut across the three formats before the commencement of the tournament in Malaysia.