Ishant Sharma made a triumphant return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after a 700-day hiatus, playing for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2023. His last appearance was in IPL 2021, and he wasted no time in making an impact, taking three wickets in the team's back-to-back wins after losing their first five games this season.
Meanwhile, Axar Patel, the vice-captain of the DC side, has been a standout performer with both bat and ball.
In a recent episode of DC TV, the two players had a candid chat about cricket and other topics. During the conversation, Ishant Sharma playfully chided Axar for not checking on his health when he was down with a fever for three days after arriving in Bangalore for DC's fifth game against RCB.
“When I got the energy to stand a little bit, I picked the food tray and came to your room and said, ‘Tereko sharam toh aati nahi, ek baar bhi phone nahi kiya. Mai jee raha hu, marr raha hu, tune mujhe ek baar poocha bhi nahi,” Ishant said to Axar.
“I was praying for you. My prayers worked wonders for you in the match. You won a prize worth Rs. 1 Lakh,” Axar replied.
The all-rounder inquired of Ishant, who made his 100th appearance for India in 2021, about his return to the game and the areas he focused on during his absence.
“I was working hard behind the scenes. I worked on things I couldn’t give time to and improve in all these years of cricket. Technical flaws such as my wrist would fall to one side. I would get tired pretty early. I tried finding reasons behind the same. I spoke to someone about my bowling. So I used this time I had to work on these things. To improve my bowling and to get back into bowling shape,” Ishant said.
On Saturday, DC will face off against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for their eighth IPL match of the season. This highly anticipated game is sure to be a thrilling showdown between two talented teams.
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