The third Test to be held at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad from February 24 will be the 100th Test of the career of Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma. He will be the second Indian pacer to do so. Before him, former fast bowler Kapil Dev played 131 Tests. Ishant said that he wants Team India to reach and win the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). Ishant said it would be like winning the ODI World Cup for him. He said this in a virtual press conference.
Ishant, who debuted at the age of 18, has played under 4 captains in his career, including Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Virat Kohli. He said that it was because of bowling according to the captain's expectation that he could survive in international cricket for so many days. Ishant made his Test debut against Bangladesh on 25 May 2007 under the captaincy of Dravid.
As a special gesture, the BCCI has released a congratulatory video in which India's present cricketers gave their special message to Ishant. In the video shared by BCCI, Kohli says, "I have been a really close friend of him ever since we started playing together. So to see him playing a hundred tests is an equally happy and proud moment for me."
On Ishant's 100th test, Rohit Sharma said, "What he has achieved in his career is remarkable. To reach to that hundred test match is never easy."
Ashwin said, "First memory has to be the way he dismissed Ricky Ponting. The way he was running with the big in-swingers."
Rahane said, "There are so many things we can learn from Ishant. I am really happy for him, I wish him good luck."
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