'He absolutely hammered me' - Ishant Sharma shares first-ever on-field encounter with former India skipper

Ishant Sharma has fallen out of favour as far as selection in the Indian Test team is concerned. However, his services to the nation will be remembered for years to come. After being groomed by the legendary Zaheer Khan, the Delhi-born pacer went on to spearhead the bowling attack in Test cricket for a number of years before the likes of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah eased their way into the red-ball format.

The troika of Ishant, Shami, and Bumrah, decimated oppositions away from home, as India won Test matches overseas due to their ability to pick 20 wickets.

During this phase, Virat Kohli played a crucial role as skipper of the side. Unlike his predecessors, who relied mostly on the spin-to-win formula, the Delhi batter had an affinity for pace and he helped his quick bowlers to express themselves, even if that was at the cost of leaking some runs.

Kohli and Ishant know each other since their U-17 days. In a recent interview, the right-arm pacer spilt the beans about his first interaction with the former U-19 World Cup-winning captain.

"I first met him during Delhi U-17 trials. I remember wearing a small lower. He had already played India U-19 so I had heard his name a lot. Everyone used to call him 'Viru' back then. Our match was at the West Delhi Cricket Academy and he absolutely hammered me. The wicket was flat as a road in Najafgarh," Ishant said on the Beer Biceps podcast.

"I somehow got selected for the U-17 trials. I met him in person there. He jokingly told me 'bhai lower to lele apne size ka (buy a lower of your size)'. I was very shy back then and didn't know how to interact with others. I didn't know how big it was to play Delhi U-17. My father always said at least try to get into Ranji Trophy so that you can get a government job. Nobody had thought that I would play India one day," he added.

Ishant Sharma has represented India in 105 Tests, 80 ODIs, and 14 T20Is. In Tests, the 34-year-old has picked up 311 wickets, while in ODIs, he has bagged 115 scalps. In his limited T20I career, Ishant has taken just eight wickets.

However, in this year's Indian Premier League, the right-arm pacer bowled decently while playing for Delhi Capitals, as he picked up 10 wickets in eight matches at an economy of 8.24.