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Ishant Sharma reveals why Zaheer Khan couldn't play 100 Tests; Is Virat Kohli the real culprit?

By Puneet Sharma

Two of Indian cricket's finest pacers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan were reunited during the recently concluded Test series between West Indies and India. Ishant and Zaheer - who have been part of some famous wins together in Test cricket - were part of the Jio Cinema commentary panel for the Test series.

Apart from Ishant and Zaheer, the Jio Cinema's expert commentary panel also witnessed the reunion of several other former India cricketers such as Aakash Chopra, Anil Kumble, Pragyan Ojha, Saba Karim, Pragyan Ojha, Deep Dasgupta and others.

ishant-sharma-zaheer-khan

The presence of many stars of Indian cricket led to some fascinating conversations when the ex-teammates went live in the commentary box on JioCinema.

One such moment was when Aakash Chopra presented the strikingly similar Test Match Career statistics of fellow commentators Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan during the match.

Both the pacers have picked up an equal number of wickets (311), including 11 five-wicket hauls, but Khan played 92 matches compared to Sharma's 105. This led to the group discussing the curious case of why Khan stopped short of playing 100 Tests for India.

Ishant Sharma reveals Zaheer Khan-Virat Kohli's hilarious conversation

In response, Sharma offered a story about how a dropped catch from Virat Kohli against New Zealand led to Khan jokingly declaring his career was over. "We were playing in New Zealand. Brendon McCullum had scored 300 runs and when Virat Kohli dropped a catch, I remembered that this happened around lunch.

"Virat said sorry to Zak and Zak said, 'No worries, we'll get him out.' During tea, Kohli said sorry again and Zak told him not to worry. On the third day when Kohli apologised during tea, Zak told him, 'You've ended my career!'"

Khan clarified Sharma's anecdote by revealing he told Kohli about the last time a dropped catch led to a 300-run knock. "I didn't say that. I said that there were only two players, the first was Kiran More who dropped Graham Gooch and he scored 300.

"After that, it's Virat Kohli who dropped a catch and someone scored 300. Then, he told me not to talk like that, naturally as he wouldn't have felt good about that. The catch was dropped and the runs were scored." India vs West Indies 1st Test: Great opportunity for Jaiswal to mark debut with century, says Ishant Sharma

The group also joked about the likelihood of Kohli being upset with Ishant for bringing this story up, but Ishant was confident that his childhood friend Kohli wouldn't mind.

Catch more such videos on JioCinema's 'From the Comm Box' section. Team India will now be in action in the Caribbean with the ODI series, starting Thursday (July 27). The 1st ODI between India and West Indies will begin at 7:00 PM onwards. The match will be streamed on JioCinema and Fancode.

Story first published: Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 19:10 [IST]
Other articles published on Jul 25, 2023
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