Need to use my good performances to take more wickets, says Delhi Capitals’ Ishant Sharma

Delhi Capitals’ bowling spearhead Ishant Sharma believes that he is eager to take more wickets in the upcoming season of IPL. The Indian pacer, who was earlier picked up by the JSW and GMR co-owned franchise for a price of Rs 1.10 crore, has said that his aim in the upcoming season of the IPL will be on taking more wickets and not just bowling well.

“I feel there is a huge ambition for me this season. I am very focused on taking more wickets throughout the tournament instead of just bowling well. Of course, taking wickets depends on how well you bowl, but the most important thing is that you use your good performance by helping the team in taking important wickets,” said the 30-year-old.

Sharma, who has taken 58 wickets with an economy of 8.2 in his IPL career, believes that his team has a great blend of pacers and spinners in the squad. He said, “Our team Delhi Capitals has picked up some great bowling options in the squad for IPL 2019 and with the likes of Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada also in the team, I think we have one of the best bowling line-ups this time. We have some very good all-rounders along with great spinners, which shall help us in restricting teams from scoring freely.”

Speaking on his return to Delhi, Ishant said he is extremely happy to represent his hometown in the IPL. “I have played for different teams in the IPL but it makes me immensely happy to be able to represent Delhi Capitals this season. Being a Delhi boy, it is a great chance for me to represent my home side and my most important target is to make the Capitals win the coveted title,” said the lanky bowler.

“It will be crucial for us to start well against the Mumbai Indians in their home ground. We know the crowd will be behind them, but our team has enough experience of these situations to tackle the pressure and perform against a strong line-up. We are all looking forward to playing our first match of this exciting new season,” Sharma said.

The Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals begin their season against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, 24th March 2019 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai; and will be playing their first home match on Tuesday, 26th March 2019 as they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.