The ghosts of India’s last tour of England in 2014 have been haunting the players and the fans ever since the tour got over. Players and fans both have been waiting for a long time now – to avenge the humiliating loss in England.
The upcoming tour is scheduled for August and September between Joe Root-led Three Lions and Virat Kohli’s No. 1 Test team. The two teams will face-off in a gruelling five-match Test series.
Moreover, the players have decided to work hard for the tour and get India their first-ever series win in England.
Players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Sourav Ganguly prepared for such tours by playing county cricket. But, the trend had changed in the recent times as the cricketers had opted not to play county cricket.
However, after the humiliating loss on their precarious previous tour, the first-team Test players have decided to play county cricket – to prepare for the tour. One such cricketer is, lanky paceman Ishant Sharma.
Sharma, who remained unsold in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, is playing for Sussex in the County Championship 2018.
Sharma made an impressive county debut for the Hove-based club, as he finished with five wickets in the match against Warwickshire at Birmingham.
His figures read three for 53 in 20.2 overs in the first innings. Similarly, he bagged two wickets after conceding 16 in nine overs, in the second innings.
The fast bowler Sharma has been signed for the first two months of the championship which involves five-day matches and eight group stage games in One Day Cup.
Five wickets for @ImIshant on his @CountyChamp debut! ?
Highlights from day four of our season opener vs. Warwickshire are available now. #gosbts
➡️https://t.co/dS7WoXhAyj pic.twitter.com/r3gx944P8C
— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) April 17, 2018
Just like Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara is also playing in the county championship for Yorkshire.
The right-handed batsman Pujara, who had previous county stint with Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire, has returned to play for Yorkshire.