Would love to sledge Steve Smith: Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma, the veteran Indian fast bowler, said that he would love to sledge Steve Smith, the current ICC’s number.1 ranked Test batsman. The speedster picked Smith over former Australian captain Ricky Ponting when asked to make a choice between the two. Ishant’s rivalry with Ponting dates back to 2007 when the pacer got rid of the legend twice in the Perth Test.

Both times at the iconic W.A.C.A, he found Ponting’s outside-edge, caught by the dependable Rahul Dravid in the slip cordon. Ishant and Smith also had a fair amount of banter on the cricket pitch. Back in March 2017, when Australia toured India for a Test series, the duo was engaged in a funny moment. It took place on Day 2 of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

After beating Smith a few times with the ball keeping low a number of times, Ishant made faces at Smith. The later was a tad bemused at it left everyone in splits. Ishant didn’t have much second thoughts about picking Smith over Ponting for sledging. “Steven Smith is the one who I would love to sledge more than Ricky Ponting,” Ishant was quoted as saying in an interview with Cricbuzz.

Ishant Sharma and Steve Smith’s contrasting outings in 2017

Ishant had a pretty torrid time in the series though. In three Tests, the 31-year-old could only manage three wickets at a disastrous average of 69.66. It was a series mostly dominated by the spinners. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin emerged as the leading wicket-takers with 25 and 21 wickets respectively. Umesh Yadav was the most successful pacer with 17 wickets.

Smith, on the other hand, had an outstanding series with the bat. He emerged as the leading run-scorer in the series with 499 runs in four games at an incredible average of 71.28. Smith also had three centuries to boast off in pretty tough conditions with a top score of an unbeaten 178.

Overall, Smith averages 60 in six Tests in India, having scored 660 runs. He currently has a Test average, second best to Don Bradman. A year later in 2018, he was handed a one-year suspension in the ball-tampering saga, but he managed to re-stamp his authority in the 2019 Ashes.