Ishant Sharma has joined hands with Delhi Police on the occasion of National Road Safety Week and urged citizens to follow traffic rules in order to maintain road safety.
Ishant is an integral part of the Indian Test setup but has long fallen out of favour in the shorter formats of the game. Hence after a successful summer of Test cricket in Australia, the pace bowler has returned home and is unlikely to play any competitive cricket till the beginning of the Indian Premier League.
Perhaps bored and definitely with noble intentions in mind, Ishant seems to have found an alternate profession in his off-time as he recorded a video standing alongside a policeman in Delhi outside the police headquarters. The video stressed the importance of following various traffic rules and also spoke about various dos and don'ts.
Renowned cricketer and leading fast bowler of the Indian cricket team,Shri ishant sharma sharing his views outside traffic police headquarters,todapur for Delhi Traffic Police on Road safety during National Road Safety Week-2019 pic.twitter.com/bgFysevfsV
— Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) February 9, 2019
The approximate English translation of what Ishant said – Do not ever use your mobile phone will driving. Do not ever jump the red light. Follow all traffic rules to avoid accidents. Please always use a helmet; this is the most important for our safety while riding a bike. Do not ever drink and drive. Do not ever let kids drive a car. Cross the road only on zebra crossings. Following safety and traffic rules on the road will save your lives. Namaste.
The Delhi police officials will certainly hope Ishant's plea becomes as successful as his tour of Australia, where under Virat Kohli's leadership, India became the first Asian team in history to win a Test series Down Under. Ishant was an invaluable part of India's triumph as he along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were the protagonists for their country. In fact, the pacers have been India's most consistent players on away tours since January 2018.
Ishant's Test success has not quite translated to the limited-overs formats and he has thus been away from cricket for more than a month and will continue to do so as the World Cup draws near. The preparations for the World Cup are in full swing for India and they do not have any Test matches lined up in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Ishant's Test series pace mates Shami and Bumrah are also resting but they will soon wear the Indian blue in the home series against a visiting Australian side. The Aussies are visiting later this month for two T20Is and five ODI matches which will be played in order to finalise the 15-member World Cup squad.
The World Cup begins on May 30 in England and the final will be played on July 14 at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground.
