Has Ishant Sharma retired from international cricket?

Team India pacer Ishant Sharma has not played international cricket for long. His last outing for India came in the home Test series against New Zealand in 2021.

Since then, the Delhi-born pacer hasn't been in the playing XI across formats for the national side, prompting questions about whether he has announced his retirement from international cricket. And the answer to that is a 'No' as Ishant still hasn't made any official announcement about walking away from the international arena.

However, he did drop hints about possibly hanging up his boots during a commentary stint during India's tour of the West Indies last year.

When asked about playing for India again, Ishant replied:

"Nahi meri body ab sath nahi deti hai (No, my body doesn’t support me anymore)."

Yet, the chances of the veteran pacer returning to the Indian side in either of the three formats are slim, considering the abundance of youngsters waiting in the wing.

The 35-year-old is India's joint-fifth highest wicket-taker in Tests with 311 scalps at an average of 32.40 in 105 games. Ishant has also played 80 ODIs and 14 T20Is, combining for 123 wickets.

The lanky pacer last played white-ball cricket for India in 2016 during the ODI series in Australia.

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Ishant Sharma enjoyed an impressive IPL 2024 season

Despite his long-time absence from international cricket, Ishant Sharma delivered the goods for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024. The tall pacer troubled some of the best batters in world cricket, finishing with 10 wickets at an average of 26.50 in nine outings.

Ishant also enjoyed similar success in IPL 2023, picking up 10 wickets in eight games. His new ball spells were a massive reason behind DC's resurgence in the second half of IPL 2024.

While DC eventually missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season, Ishant displayed his ability to still be an impactful bowler with the new ball. With the Mega Auction coming up later this year, it remains to be seen if Ishant is retained by DC or picked up by some other franchise.