Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma included in Delhi's squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022

Veteran India pacer Ishant Sharma has been included in the Delhi squad for the upcoming edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy  2022 that gets underway on October 11. The tall fast bowler will look to grab this opportunity with both hands as he eyes a comeback into the Indian team.

Meanwhile, the Delhi team will be led by the dynamic Kolkata Knight Riders batter Nitish Rana and apart from Ishant, another veteran Pradeep Sangwan has also been selected in the squad. Other notable inclusions are India's U19 World Cup-winning captain Yash Dhull, emerging cricketers Ayush Badoni and Hrithik Shokeen who showcased impressive performances in the IPL 2022 having represented the Lucknow Super Giants and the Mumbai Indians respectively.

Ishant Sharma targets comeback into Indian team

Ishant, who had a forgettable 2021 with the ball in hand for India was one of the notable omissions along with veteran wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and two of the underperforming seniors Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara for the 2022 season. 

In fact, the Delhi cricketer has not donned the India jersey since November last year. Sharma, who also used to feature in the IPL on a regular basis had no takers this time around as he went unsold at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Ever since Ishant first burst onto the scene at the highest level back in 2007 at the age of 19, he has gone on to represent India in 105 Tests and picking up 311 wickets at an average of 32.50. As far as his white-ball career is concerned, Sharma has managed to register 115 scalps to his name from 80 One Day Internationals at an economy rate of 5.72. The tall pacer has made 14 T20I appearances with eight wickets to his credit. 

Ishant was India's game-changer in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final against England where he dismissed Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara off successive deliveries as India defended a paltry target of 130 in a rain-curtailed contest. 

Here's the entire Delhi squad:

Nitish Rana (captain), Himmat Singh (vc), Hiten Dalal, Yash Dhull, Anuj Rawat (wk), Hrithik Shokeen, Ayush Badoni, Lalit Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Mayank Yadav, Shivank Vashisht, Dev Lakra, Pradeep Sangwan, Pranshu Vijayaran, Deepak Punia, Vaibhav Kandpal, Lakshay Thareja, Mayank Rawat.