Delhi Capitals shelled out Rs 1.1 Crore to acquire the services of Ishant Sharma and the star fast-bowler believes he is ready to repay the faith shown by the franchise in the upcoming edition of the India Premier League (IPL).

Ishant — who finished with 0,3,1 and 3 wickets in the last four seasons — said his aim is to take more wickets and not just bowling well in the 12th edition of the cash rich league.

“I feel there is a huge ambition for me this season. I am very focused on taking more wickets throughout the tournament instead of just bowling well. Of course, taking wickets depends on how well you bowl, but the most important thing is that you use your good performance by helping the team in taking important wickets,” Ishant was quoted as saying in a press release.

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Ishant, who has taken 59 wickets with an economy of 8.2 in his IPL career, believes that his team has a great blend of pacers and spinners in the squad.

“Our team Delhi Capitals has picked up some great bowling options in the squad for IPL 2019 and with the likes of Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada also in the team, I think we have one of the best bowling line-ups this time. We have some very good all-rounders along with great spinners, which shall help us in restricting teams from scoring freely,” said Ishant.

Speaking on his return to Delhi, Ishant said he is extremely happy to represent his home town in the IPL.

“I have played for different teams in the IPL but it makes me immensely happy to be able to represent Delhi Capitals this season. Being a Delhi boy, it is a great chance for me to represent my home side and my most important target is to make the Capitals win the coveted title,” said the lanky bowler.

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“It will be crucial for us to start well against the Mumbai Indians in their home ground. We know the crowd will be behind them, but our team has enough experience of these situations to tackle the pressure and perform against a strong line-up. We are all looking forward to playing our first match of this exciting new season.”

The Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals begin their season against Mumbai Indians on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

First Published: Mar 20, 2019 17:02 IST