India vs England: Fit-again Ishant Sharma to play for Delhi Ranji team before England series

NEW DELHI: India fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who missed the New Zealand series due to 'chikungunya', will be back in action at the second round of the Ranji Trophy for Delhi. Sources say that Ishant would travel with his state team to Kolkata on Tuesday, where Delhi will play Karnataka at the Eden Gardens from Thursday onwards.
With the England Test series coming up next, this Ranji match should help Ishant get back his rhythm before tougher challenges.He would have to prove his fitness and form as Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are doing a good job with the new ball for the team.
Also, Ishant's fitness and form are important for his team because India are schedule to play 10 more Test matches at home this season. "His fever shot up four days before the Test series begun. He had severe joint pain and now he is certainly feeling better. He is expected to be fit for the England series," a source told TOI.
Ishant's inclusion would boost Delhi, which has struggled against Maharashtra in the first round match. There are also a few fitness issues with other fast bowlers of the Delhi team.Therefore, Ishant is expected to lead the bowling attack against a strong Karnakata batting line-up.
Delhi are also boosted by the return of regular skipper Gautam Gambhir, who made a Test comeback in the New Zealand series. Incidentally, Delhi were even keen to include Shikhar Dhawan for the second match of the season against Karnataka. But he is yet to recover fully from the finger injury sustained during the second Test against New Zealand in Kolkata.