IND vs NZ | All credit goes to NCA support staff for my recovery from ankle injury, asserts Ishant Sharma

IND vs NZ | All credit goes to NCA support staff for my recovery from ankle injury, asserts Ishant Sharma

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ICC

Ishant Sharma, who returned from a ligament tear to pick a three-fer in Wellington, has credited the National Cricket Academy for his speedy recovery and thanks them for the hard work done for him. Ishant has further added that bowling 21 overs in a day at NCA made him confident about his recovery.

India's pace spearhead and one of the most consistent bowlers in the world at the moment, Ishant Sharma suffered an injury in the Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha put fears of god in the Indian team that they were going to miss the services of the Delhi pacer. However, after few days of hard work at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Ishant recovered fully and joined the Indian team in Hamilton for the only warm-up game of the tour.

Not only did he make himself available for the first Test at the Basin Reserve, he was the pick of the bowlers for the Indian team, dismissing the first three Kiwi wickets with a menacing spell of pace bowling. That performance surely made Ishant proud and he thanked the NCA support staff for putting in a shift to ensure his speedy recovery.

"I didn't have any target that I have to play a Test. I thought 'okay, if it's possible to play, I will play but if it's not, there's hardly anything I could have done'. Because the way I got injured, I don't think it had happened with anyone. But if you are destined to get injured, you can slip in toilet too," Ishant said in the press conference, reported Times of India.

"All credit goes to NCA support staff as they worked really hard with me. We never really thought I have to play a Test because my MRI shows I had a complete ligament tear, not one but two tears. People said 'he is out for six weeks'," he added.

Ishant was made it sweat it out at the NCA, even bowling the maximum potential that he could, even though he was returning from an injury. After not fielding him in the warm-up game, the Indian team management kept a clear look at his bowling and fitness level in the nets, which convinced them about the veteran pacer's fitness. Ishant revealed that he had bowled 21 overs at the NCA before taking the final call of flying to New Zealand.

"I bowled 21 overs in two days at NCA and I got to know I am fit and that's why I came here and bowled one and half hours to check if I am alright. After travelling for almost 24 hours, it took a big toll on the body."

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