Did a lot of hard work for 13 years: Ishant Sharma reacts after getting Arjuna Award

Reacting for the first after getting the prestigious Arjuna Award, India fast bowler Ishant Sharma on Monday said it’s a proud moment for him and his family.

The lanky fast bowler, who is just there shy from playing a 100 Tests, said he has worked really hard for the last 13 years to get to this point.

“When I got to know I was getting the Arjuna, I was really happy, felt proud about myself. For the last 13 years, I did a lot of hard work. It’s a proud moment for me and my family,” said Ishant in a video posted by BCCI on their official twitter handle.

Ishant, who is one of the leaders of the Indian pace attack, said his wife Pratima, who is a member of Indian women’s basketball team, was happier than him.

“My wife is really proud. She is the one who really thinks that I should get that award,” said Ishant, who is currently in the UAE as part of the Delhi Capitals squad for the IPL 2020 which is slated to begin from September 19.

Indian cricketers Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma were among the 27 athletes who were awarded the Arjuna Award by the Sports Ministry this year.

India opener Rohit Sharma was among the five athletes to be bestowed with the highest honour for sportspersons in India, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

Talking about the mindset of the India pace attack which has the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and he himself, Ishant said they don’t really think about personal milestones as such. Their ultimate goal is to pick wickets and win matches for India.

“Mindset of the Indian bowling right now is we always think how are going to win. We don’t think about individual wickets, we try and read the situation we do accordingly. We plan according to batsmen and try and execute them on the ground,” said Ishant.