Interview with Ishant Sharma

Ha! You didn't really expect it to be lengthy or official at all, did you? Well, it isn't. But I'm making up for the lack of words with an excess of pictures, as is my way.

Cast your mind back to India's 2007-08 tour of Australia. Ah yes, you say. I remember now. There was much monkeying around, and many supposed monkeys running around. Back in the days when Huss was the one running out of partners, not the one running partners out. When everyone truly realised how obnoxious India had become and how inflation and inflated heads had nothing to do with economics. Yes, those were the days. Ishant Sharma, a young 19 year old bowler was making his Test match debut, and after the infamous 'monkey' incident in the Sydney test, tensions were running high. (In Bhaji's defence, he was really only using a Hindi abuse that sounded similar to monkey) I caught up with Ishant a few days after the Sydney test during a practice match against the Prime Minister's XI...

Amy S: Hello.
Ishant: *mumbles* Hello.
Amy S: I love your hair.

It is the latest style

Ishant: Thank you. -disappears to field a ball-
Upon returning...
Amy S: How is it going with the team?
Ishant: We are bonding well.

Yes. Yes they are.

Amy S: Do you like playing in Australia?
Ishant: .... *mumbles* No.
Amy S: Why not?
Ishant: ...I don't like the people.
Amy S: -laughing internally- Oh, really?
Ishant: -fiddles with thick bands of religious necklaces- Yes.
Amy S: Well, that's too bad.
Ishant: Yes. -noticed Dhoni gesturing and disappears to have a bowl-

Well, there you go. That's all of it. It's bloody brilliant, really. I think I'm well on track to getting a permanent job as a reporter. Much of the above is true. The important parts are, anyway. The young Ishant Sharma was brutally honest about his opinion of Australia and a few small conversations with him revealed what he thought of the locals, which was basically an extension of his feelings towards the Aussie cricket team. At the time, it seemed a shame his first experience of Australia would be negative, but he seems to have grown into a typical Indian cricketer in the meantime, being considerably in love with himself.

I do wonder whether he still wears the bands around his neck... And yes, apparently he does:

They give him lift.

And in fact, he doesn't seem quite as tall in real life as he does in photos. Although perhaps my vision was impaired, because it seems some people are actually tall. The best way of discerning this is to place said cricketer beside a famous celebrity to highlight the height difference. Now how could I find a way of doing that? Oh, wait...

I believe Elmo put it best when he said, "What the fuck?"