Ishant Sharma, an Indian Test cricket veteran, and former Indian Premier League (IPL) player made an unorthodox appearance during the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, yet the fans felt terrible for him.
Even though Dinesh Karthik smacked Andre Russell for six and four in the final over to give the RCB their first win of the 2022 season, the game stayed close throughout, and scoring proved too difficult for both sides to keep up with.
In the middle of the match, the cameraman shifted the lens towards the huge screen, which was showing the ‘virtual guests,’ and Ishant Sharma, the former Punjab Kings, and Delhi Capitals pacer could be noticed sitting there, in front of a blank background, wearing a sponsorship shirt.
Sharma’s presence as a “virtual guest” was clearly solely for the purpose of promoting RuPay, an Indian payment network. However, seeing one of India’s greatest bowling legends, as well as a well-known face within the IPL circuit until the 2019 season, fake cheer for a random side left spectators with a sour taste in their mouths.
The majority of the replies were shocking, followed by pity for the athlete. After an image of him as a virtual guest became viral on the internet, it was dubbed an “unreal decline.”
Ishant Sharma was unable to get an IPL club to bid for him at the mega auction in 2022. Unlike other players seeking to re-enter the world’s most lucrative and popular T20 tournament, Sharma fixed his basic price at Rs. 1.5 crore. As a result, none of the ten franchises present at the event were interested, and Sharma went unsold once more.
Sharma has appeared in 93 IPL matches, bowled 1997 legal deliveries, and taken 72 wickets during his career.