Ishant Sharma described the toughest part of his career, he said he felt he ‘betrayed the country’ when the Australian all-rounder James Faulkner crushed 30 runs in his 6 balls in the 3rd ODI of India-Australia series in 2013.
“The turning point of my life came in 2013. Faulkner hit me for 30 runs in one over in an ODI in Mohali that Australia went on to win,” said Ishant Sharma on cricketbaazi show as quoted on ESPNcricinfo.
Faulkner scored 64 runs off 29 balls which helped Australia to chase the mammoth target of 304 and the lead of 2-1 in the seven-match ODI series. The 2013 India-Australia series was all about scoring chasing in the second innings, India also chased two 350+ scores and still, that was the best bilateral series India played in the past decade.
I felt like I betrayed my nation: Ishant Sharma
“At that time I felt I had betrayed myself and my country,” said Ishant going on to reveal that he cried for two weeks after that Mohali ODI. “For two-three weeks, I didn’t speak to anyone. I cried a lot. I am a very tough guy. My mother says she hasn’t seen a tougher person than me. [But] I called my girlfriend and cried on the phone like a child. Those three weeks were like a nightmare. I stopped eating. I couldn’t sleep or do anything else. You switch on the television and people are criticizing you, which messes you up even more,” said Ishant as saying by Hindustan Times.
“I laugh about it now and I consider it a blessing in disguise. Sometimes you need a jolt to understand your passion. After the Faulkner incident, I went through major changes in my life. After 2013, I started taking things seriously. Before that, if I had a bad performance, people would come and tell me ‘It’s okay, it happens.’ But after 2013, if someone came to me and said that, I wouldn’t listen. If I have made a mistake, I have made a mistake. I started taking responsibility for my actions. When you do that, you play every match to win it for the team,” Ishant added.
Ishant Sharma is one of the most consistent performers of Indian cricket and he is just 3 short of taking 300 international wickets. His heroics in the 2018-2019 India-Australia series in Australia is the best part of his career.
