Ishant roped in by Kings XI Punjab

Ishant Sharma. IANS

New Delhi: Senior Indian speedster Ishant Sharma was on Tuesday picked by Kings XI Punjab for the 10th Indian Premier League, a massive boost to his Twenty20 career after the setback of going unsold in the players' auction.

Currently, India's senior-most pacer in the Test squad (77 matches), Ishant went unsold at the IPL Players' auction in February where his base price was a whopping Rs 2 crore.

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His name came up twice, but none of the eight franchises picked him, mainly due to his high base price.

However, Kings XI Punjab, whose pace attack needs a bit of experience, got Ishant on board.

Over the years, Ishant has played for a number of franchises starting from Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune Supergiants.

The 28-year-old has 88 wickets from the 107 Twenty20 matches and has an economy rate of 7.75 with best bowling figures of 5 for 12.