BCCI trolled for calling Ishant Sharma’s 130kph spell against Pakistan ‘fiery’

Twitteratis question how a medium-fast spell against Pakistani tail can be defined as “fiery”.

By Web Desk
September 02, 2019
AFP

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday attempted to sell birthday boy Ishant Sharma’s five-for against Pakistan a bit too hard, and it backfired tremendously.

During the third Test of Pakistan’s tour of India in 2007, Sharma, then just 19, had bagged himself a five-wicket haul, which was pretty impressive for a teenager.

But the medium-fast bowler’s feat was dubbed “fiery” by the BCCI, which was trying a bit too hard to sell a spell where Sharma was primarily bowling to Pakistani tail at speeds ranging into early-130s.

Of the five he got out, the most recognised batsman was Faisal Iqbal — hardly an intimidating entry himself. His other four victims were Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria — practically the entire tail of the visitors.

The fastest Sharma clocked on his wicket-taking deliveries was 134.5kmph, which cannot be termed “fiery” by any stretch of the imagination. Not to mention the fact that Pakistan finished with 537 in that innings.

Twitteratis noticed BCCI’s sneaky attempt to exaggerate Sharma’s spell, with master troller Dennis Freedman leading the cause.

Even Indian fans could not help feel embarrassed by the faux pas. 

Sharma is one of the better fast bowlers to come out of India. Though the 31-year-old has slowed down with age and injuries, he was able to generate decent, if not scary, pace early in his career.

His spell against Ricky Ponting-led Aussies from 2008 when he caused trouble with his movement, or his performance against the same opposition from 2018 when he almost hit 140kmph could have made a much better birthday gift for Sharma.

However, the zeal to add a Pakistan mention left the Indian board red-faced.

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