One of India's most reliable pacers in Test cricket in recent times, Ishant Sharma, recently opened up on his fascinating ODI debut tale when a loss of a kit bag forced him to borrow bowling shoes from India legend and fellow bowling partner during his initial days Zaheer Khan.
Zaheer and Ishant were one of the most efficient fast bowling pairs of their time and helped India win plenty of games both at home and while playing in overseas conditions. While speaking in Part 2 of his interview on Home of Heroes on JioCinema, Ishant recalled how Zaheer lent him a pair of shoes and came to his rescue ahead of his ODI debut against South Africa at Belfast in Ireland in June 2007.
A youngster back then, Ishant was struck with misfortune when he travelled to Ireland to represent India in a bilateral series against South Africa in three ODIs. The 34-year-old lost his kit bag en route to Ireland and was left with not a single pair of shoes to put on in his ODI debut when the then-India skipper Rahul Dravid informed him that he was going to play.
However, his bowling partner and compatriot Zaheer came to his rescue and lent him a pair of shoes to bail the Delhi-born out of a precarious situation.
"Rahul Dravid told me that I have to debut tomorrow and I responded, ‘But I can’t play barefoot!’ I didn’t even practice. I asked Zak (Zaheer Khan) for a pair of size 11 shoes so I could play the match. He gave me some shoes, but my toe kept hurting, but I didn’t care," told Ishant during the interaction.
Ishant is currently not a part of India in any of the formats, however, he did well while playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League 2023 with ten scalps in eight games and impressed with his new variation in the form of a knuckle ball.
