It took quite a while for the lanky right-arm pacer to reach this far, but it is no mean feat and Sharma certainly deserves all the accolades that come his way.
Many, though, felt he ought to have got here much earlier, but it was beyond him and he definitely tried hard.
For someone who has been playing 14 years of international cricket and who is two shy of his 100th Test, Sharma ought to have taken a lot more wickets than he actually has. His strike rate of 61.1 balls for every wicket is better than some of the fast bowling legends of the game, but the general feeling has always been whether Sharma has done real justice to his ability.
The raw talent with which he burst into the international scene as an 18-year-old in 2007 and making one of the all-time greats Ricky Ponting dance to his tunes on his maiden tour to Australia in 2008, somehow seemed to fade away after the retirement of Zaheer Khan in 2014 (at which time Sharma played 55 Tests and took 165 wickets). But, he has rediscovered himself in the company of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, and the Delhi pacer has been bowling at his best over the last three or four years.
His body has taken a heavy toll and he has missed matches to injuries. Sharma is on yet another comeback trail to Tests in this ongoing series against England after missing the Australia leg due to left rib cage pain that he sustained during the IPL 2020 and which eventually revealed a left internal oblique muscle tear.
Former India paceman Lakshmipathi Balaji, who finished his Test career before Sharma began his but who shared the Indian dressing in the ODIs with the Delhi pacer, doffed his hat to the latest entrant to the 300-Test wicket club.
Talking exclusively to Sportskeeda from Chennai, Balaji, now a bowling coach with Chennai Super Kings, said -
Balaji, who appeared in 8 Tests, 30 ODIs and 5 T20Is for the country and took a combined tally of 71 international scalps, added -
Balaji put into perspective the numbers that many feel do not do justice to Sharma’s longevity in the game.
Balaji analysed further about bowling in the sub-continent -
And on other occasions, he was bowling on pitches that resembled a “road” – “First two days, it felt like we were playing on the road,” Sharma said about the first two days’ pitch of the first Test in the current series.
Numbers do not tell the true story - L Balaji
Balaji further shed light on how Ishant’s association with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami has helped hone his skills.
A fully-fit Sharma is still an automatic choice into the Test playing 11. Balaji made mention of the fact that the lanky pacer is still the primary member of the Indian bowling attack, while being able to maintain pace at the 140 kph mark despite growing in age. (Just for an understanding, West Indies pace legend Curtly Ambrose took 405 wickets in the same 98 Tests in his career.)
Balaji threw some light on why Sharma did not do real justice to his number one status in the Indian bowling department.
Ishant is spearheading the Indian attack whenever he plays - L Balaji
Balaji, however, was not really bothered about Sharma taking an average of three wickets a Test.
The former Indian speedster additionally added that Ishant cannot be compared to yesteryear legends, and instead, his longevity should be heralded.
For the record, Sharma has taken 137 of his 300 wickets in 51 Tests in the Asian sub-continent – 101 in 38 Tests in India, 10 in 4 Tests in Bangladesh and 26 in 9 Tests in Sri Lanka.
It has, indeed, been a rough ride with the smooth for Sharma, who admitted to have had a “roller-coaster life so far” after reaching 300 Test wickets.
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