Veteran India pacer Ishant Sharma credits the 2013 Mohali ODI loss against Australia as the match which changed his career after he was taken to the cleaners by all-rounder James Faulkner.
India lost to Australia by 4 wickets in a high-scoring 3rd ODI at the PCA stadium in Mohali after failing to defend 303 runs on a good batting track.
Ishant conceded 63 runs from his 8 overs, managing to pick up just 1 wicket, including 30 runs in the 48th over which effectively ended India’s chances of victory.
Australia needed 44 off 18 balls when then-captain MS Dhoni asked Ishant to bowl the 48th over but the pacer completely lost the plot and his confidence as Faulkner scored 4, 6, 6, 2, 6, 6 off the six deliveries to tilt the match in his team’s favour.
Ishant recalled that game and the way he bowled in that ODI, revealing that he sobbed like a child afterwards while talking on the phone with his girlfriend.
“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. At that time I felt I had betrayed myself and my country.
“For 2-3 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.
“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 criticising you, which messes you up even more,” Ishant told ESPNcricinfo.
But as they say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” That is exactly what happened with Ishant also as he became a much better bowler after that game and is even the leader of the Indian pace attack in Test cricket.
Ishant is no longer considered for selection in limited-overs cricket but the 32-year-old is one of the first picks in Virat Kohli’s Test team. He is the most-capped Indian player in Test cricket among active cricketers and is just 3 wickets away from entering the 300 club in the format.
“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 said.