Ishant Sharma - From Being A Snub At School To India's Leading Test Bowler

From a boy who once sat at a west Delhi intersection with tears in his eyes after failing to get admitted to a recognized school 17 years ago to becoming the second India pace bowler to play 100 Tests

From there it was the Australia tour and famously troubling then-Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Ishant had taken off.

He suffered injuries, took a season off from the Indian Premier League (IPL), and later realized he didn't have the variations for limited-overs cricket. He then honed himself into a fine Test bowler.

"Unfortunately his length was a bit short initially than it should have been, which is why he didn't get many more wickets. Later when he started to pitch the ball further up, he started getting the rewards regularly," said Dahiya who has also been a head coach with the Delhi Ranji team, for which Ishant plays, and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

It was the stint at Sussex in 2018 under the guidance of former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie that saw Ishant finding the length. He started to hit the pads, the knee roll as advised by Gillespie. The results began showing. Since the start of 2018, he has taken 76 wickets in 20 Tests at an average of 19.34.

"The greatest thing about Ishant is that he is continuously willing to learn. Even during the IPL 2020 in UAE, before he had side-strain, he was always looking to learn something or add a yard or two of pace. During quarantine, when many people were relaxing he was practicing," says Dahiya.

Years later, after Ishant had made his debut, Bantoo met the principal at a tournament he had helped organize between schools from India and Pakistan.

"She said we should have admitted him. Honestly, when he was bowling at the nets at Salwan, even I wouldn't have thought he will play India, let alone play 100 Tests," recalls Bantoo.