Delhi Capitals' veteran pacer Ishant Sharma twisted his ankle in the team's opening game of IPL 2024 against Punjab Kings, which was held at the newly constructed Maharaja Yadavendra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. In an attempt to save a boundary in the sixth over of Punjab's innings, the pacer ended up hurting himself badly.
Sharma was seen wincing in pain and had to leave the field limping, which further depletes an already depleted pace arsenal of the Rishabh Pant-led franchise.
Sharma started off on a backfoot as he gave away 9 runs in the first over, but came back rather strongly and picked up the crucial wicket of Punjab Kings; skipper Shikhar Dhawan in the fourth over.
He also played a crucial role in aiding the run out of Punjab's wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow.
Notably, Delhi Capitals have a scarcity of pace options currently, as two of their overseas pacers – South Africa's Anrich Nortje and Australia's Jhye Richardson – are yet to be fully fit.
Nortje is currently recovering from a back stress fracture, which also made him miss the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. The South African pacer had also missed the last IPL season due to a groin injury.
Meanwhile, Jhye Richardson suffered a side strain and remained absent from the latter half of the Big Bash League. He also missed out on the home series against West Indies.
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