The Indian cricket team hammered Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-Test series. The Mohali Test ended inside three days with the hosts claiming a massive victory by an innings and 222 runs to take an unassailable 1-0 lead.
Now, the action moves to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, where the second Test will be played from Saturday. The Bangalore Test match is a day-night contest to be played with the pink ball.
One senior cricketer, though, is believed to be on the verge of retirement soon.
Ishant Sharma may retire from Test cricket soon
Senior Indian pacer Ishant Sharma found himself out of the squad for the Sri Lanka Test series, after he was benched for all three Tests in South Africa. The veteran of 105 Tests, in which he took 311 wickets, Ishant has fallen down in the pecking order over the last year due to injuries and rise of other bowlers.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are the two first-choice pacers, having played in the Mohali Test, Mohammed Siraj is third in the pecking order, followed by Umesh Yadav, who was selected in the eleven over Ishant in the third Test in Cape Town. And Shardul Thakur has emerged as the seam-bowling all-rounder and played a crucial role in the Test series in England and South Africa.
Now, looking at India’s Test schedule in the coming months: India have a tour of England for a one-off Test from the unfinished series last year; they host Australia and then tour Bangladesh. Ishant Sharma, 33, is unlikely to play in the England Test, with Thakur coming in as the third or fourth seamer to play the all-rounder’s role, and India don’t play with more than two pacers in Tests in Asia.
Hence, there is a strong belief that Ishant Sharma, who also recently went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction, could hang up his boots soon.
Ishant’s career is talked about in two phases: since January 2018, the lanky pacer averages a brilliant 21 with the ball while before that his bowling average was a mediocre 36. He played a crucial role in India’s maiden Test series win in Australia in 2018/19.
