'I have to take 3 pills a day so that I don't feel the pain...': Ishant Sharma reveals he is playing IPL despite injury

In the absence of their veteran pacer Ishant Sharma, Delhi Capitals (DC) bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) red-hot openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. Lalit Yadav bowled in the powerplay overs and was dominated by the SRH duo as the broke the record for highest powerplay score in history of T20 cricket. Ishant’s replacement Anrich Nortje could not turn it around for DC either as he went for plenty. However, the decision to bench Ishant was last minute. DC skipper Rishabh Pant revealed that Ishant picked up a back spasm minutes before the coin toss. 
 

Earlier, Ishant while talking to the broadcasters revealed that he has not been 100 per cent fit. He has been battling injuries and taking painkillers to get through practice and matches.
 

“I have to be thankful to Patrick (Farhart, the DC physio), the day I twisted my ankle, myself and him stayed up the entire night as icing had to be applied. Even now, I have to take 3 pills a day so that I don't feel the pain during either practice or in the match,” the 35-year-old said. 
 

“We get used to it, we'll have to know when to switch on and switch off (from the routines), so going to your house helps a lot, it'll help you keep you mentally fresh going into the game. I have never looked at myself, even when you're doing well or doing badly, this format doesn't allow you to think too much, just keep it as simple as possible,” he added. 
 

 

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Ishant has managed to take six wickets from six games. He was exceptional with the new ball against Gujarat Titans (GT) taking wickets of skipper Shubman Gill and David Miller. 
 

Big loss for DC

In Ishant’s absence, Pant had to rely on off-spinner Lalit who failed to justify the match-up against two left-handed batters. Riding on a blazing start, SRH posted a massive total of 266/7 on the board. Dew did not come into play and DC batters lacked firepower in the middle overs as they were bowled out for 199 and lost the match by 67 runs.
 

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