Team Indian lanky speedster — Ishant Sharma was named as the recipient of the honourable Arjuna award as part of National Sports Awards 2020. The pacer revealed his wife has always wanted him to win the accolade. The Indian cricketer will join the award ceremony virtually on 29th August because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, he would not directly receive the prestigious award from the President Ram Nath Kovind.
Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma were the only cricketers who bagged the Arjuna award this year, while batsman Rohit Sharma received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour.
It is a proud moment for me and my family: Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is proud of this moment for which he tells he has been working hard for over 13 years. He also mentioned his wife is proud of him and that she was the one who always thought he deserved the award.
“When I got to know that I will receive the Arjuna award, I was happy and very proud of myself. For the last 13 years, I did a lot of hard work. It is a proud moment for me and my family. More than me, my wife is really proud of me because more than me she is the one who really thinks I should get that award,” Ishant Sharma said in a video for the BCCI.
Team India’s bowlers have a winning mindset always: Ishant Sharma
The Indian pacer Sharma opined that Team India’s bowlers always think of how to win a game, and try to read the situation and counteract.
“The mindset of team India’s bowling is that we always think about how to win a game. That is the most important priority for us. We try to read the situation and act accordingly. Plan according to every batsman and try to execute that on the field,” he added.
Ishant Sharma, 31, has had magnificent last two years of test cricket which has improved his average. He has 297 wickets in 97 games at an average of 32.39.
Ishant is just three shy of the 300 wicket club. Ishant will be playing in the upcoming Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals. The tournament is being played in UAE from September 19 to November 10.