Ishant Sharma denies reports of his association with Warwickshire

Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma denied reports of him taking part in the county championship. It was earlier reported that the lanky fast bowler will play for Warwickshire. Sharma is a part of Indian Test squad but he hasn’t played a game. He went wicketless during India’s practice match against Sri Lankan President XI and spent most of his time watching the game from the sidelines.

The Indian squad for the limited overs series against Sri Lanka was announced yesterday and the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were given rest. Ashwin is supposed to join Worcestershire, and he will be playing the game against Gloucestershire.

Here is what Ishant tweeted

Contrary to the news rounds through various sites, have not signed Warwickshire or any other county.

— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) August 14, 2017

According to ESPN Cricinfo, another Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara will join back his side Nottinghamshire, who are at the top spot now. Pujara has done well for his county side and scored a century which went in a winning cause. It was also reported that Jadeja hasn’t finalised a team yet, but it will be interesting to see if both the spinners play a part in the English county this year.

What if Ashwin plays?

If Ashwin plays in the county championship then this will be his first season. He has been in good form in Test cricket and has played a crucial role in India’s eighth successive series win. However, the spin wizard of India has struggled in away games. He has been criticized quite often for not been able to replicate his home Test form into away games.

Under MS Dhoni, India lost to England, Australia, and New Zealand in massive margins and somehow the bowlers were not able to pick the 20 wickets. Ashwin is currently at no 3 in Test bowler’s ranking and has scalped more than 13 wickets in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. Virat Kohli would want his main spinner to come good on foreign soil and this development is encouraging for Ashwin as well as Indian cricket.