Ishant Sharma walks into an IPL season carrying something few fast bowlers can offer: seventeen years of top-flight experience. From his 2008 debut with Kolkata Knight Riders to his move to Gujarat Titans in the 2025 mega auction, the lanky Delhi pacer has been the senior pro in almost every dressing room he has entered. His IPL story is not one of purple caps and record hauls, but of reinvention — a powerplay swing bowler who kept finding new ways to stay relevant across three different decades of T20 cricket.
His most recent chapters tell the story of a career winding down. Gujarat Titans paid INR 75 lakh for him at the 2025 mega auction, used him in seven matches, and then retained him for 2026 — a season in which he did not play a single game. With the 2027 season yet to begin and his retention status not officially confirmed, this is the full, verified account of Ishant Sharma’s IPL numbers: 97 wickets from 117 matches, a best of 5/12, and every season accounted for.
Editorial illustration for this stats profile; not a photograph from a specific match.
Ishant Sharma IPL Stats Overview
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Ishant Sharma |
| IPL Debut | 2008, Kolkata Knight Riders |
| Role | Right-arm fast-medium bowler |
| Batting Style | Right-hand bat |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm fast-medium |
| Current IPL Team | Gujarat Titans (through IPL 2026) |
| IPL Matches | 117 |
| IPL Runs | 57 |
| Highest Score | 10* |
| IPL Wickets | 97 |
| Best Bowling | 5/12 |
| IPL 2027 Team | Not officially confirmed |
| IPL 2027 Price | Not officially confirmed |
Who Is Ishant Sharma?
Ishant Sharma, born 2 September 1988 in Delhi, is one of India’s most experienced fast bowlers, with 105 Tests and 311 Test wickets to his name. Standing 6 ft 5 in, he has always been a tall, hit-the-deck bowler who extracts bounce, but his most bankable T20 skill has been swing with the new ball in the powerplay. He has been part of the IPL since its inaugural season in 2008 and has represented six franchises across his career, usually deployed as the senior Indian seamer who mentors younger quicks while handling the tough early overs.
Ishant Sharma IPL Teams
| Season(s) | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–2010 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Auctioned 2008 (INR 3.80 crore), retained 2009–2010 |
| 2011–2012 | Deccan Chargers | Auctioned 2011 (INR 2.07 crore); missed 2012 through ankle surgery |
| 2013–2015 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Auctioned 2013 (INR 2.60 crore), retained 2014–2015 |
| 2016 | Rising Pune Supergiants | Auctioned (INR 3.80 crore) |
| 2017 | Kings XI Punjab | Auctioned (INR 2.00 crore) |
| 2018 | — | Went unsold at the auction |
| 2019–2021 | Delhi Capitals | Auctioned 2019 (INR 1.10 crore), retained 2020–2021 |
| 2022 | — | Went unsold at the auction |
| 2023–2024 | Delhi Capitals | Auctioned 2023 (INR 50 lakh), retained 2024 |
| 2025–2026 | Gujarat Titans | Auctioned 2025 (INR 75 lakh), retained 2026 |
The pattern of Ishant’s career is clear: teams keep coming back to him. After going unsold in 2018, Delhi Capitals gave him a fresh start in 2019 and he rewarded them with one of his best seasons. After going unsold again in 2022, DC brought him back in 2023 at a bargain INR 50 lakh. And after a difficult 2025 with Gujarat Titans, the franchise still retained him for 2026 — a sign of the mentorship value he carries even when he is not in the playing eleven. He shared the Delhi dressing room in those comeback years with players such as Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.
Ishant Sharma IPL 2024 Stats
| Matches | Overs | Wickets | Best | Average | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 27 | 10 | 3/34 | 26.50 | 9.81 |
His final season for Delhi Capitals was interrupted by injury, but the numbers held up well: ten wickets in nine matches with a best of 3/34 against Lucknow Super Giants. The 2024 campaign also produced one of his most replayed deliveries — a brute of a yorker to clean up Andre Russell of KKR in Visakhapatnam, which even drew applause from the batter. With the bat he scored a solitary run in two unbeaten innings. It was a season that showed he could still produce moments of genuine quality at 35, even as his body limited his availability.
Ishant Sharma IPL 2025 Stats
| Matches | Overs | Wickets | Best | Average | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 18.2 | 4 | 1/18 | 51.25 | 11.18 |
Bought by Gujarat Titans for INR 75 lakh at the 2025 mega auction, Ishant endured the toughest full season of his IPL career. Four wickets in seven matches at an economy of 11.18 was comfortably his worst return in any season where he played more than a handful of games. A 0/53 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in April underlined how the modern powerplay — full of fearless strokeplay — had started to pass him by. He was even fined for a code-of-conduct breach during the SRH clash, a rare show of frustration. GT’s pace attack, led by Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, simply did not need him in the biggest games.
Ishant Sharma IPL 2026 Stats
| Matches | Overs | Wickets | Best | Average | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Gujarat Titans retained Ishant for INR 75 lakh ahead of the 2026 season, but he did not feature in a single match all tournament. GT’s settled attack — Siraj, Rabada and Prasidh Krishna with the new ball, Rashid Khan and R Sai Kishore through the middle — left no opening, and the veteran spent the entire campaign as bench experience and a mentor to younger quicks. His most-discussed moment of the season came off the field, when a fan confrontation ahead of Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala briefly made headlines. His career totals remain unchanged from the end of 2025.
Ishant Sharma IPL 2027 Stats
IPL 2027 statistics are not available yet because the season has not started. There are no 2027 match figures to report, and folding any predictions into his record would be misleading. His last recorded IPL numbers remain the 2025 season: seven matches, four wickets, best 1/18.
Ishant Sharma IPL 2027 Team and Price
Ishant Sharma’s IPL 2027 team and price are not officially confirmed. Gujarat Titans held him through the 2026 season on a retained INR 75 lakh contract, but official retention and release announcements for 2027 have not been made. Media prediction pieces list him among the players GT could release ahead of the mini auction, citing his age and zero appearances in 2026 — but those are predictions, not official decisions. His team and price for 2027 will be confirmed when franchises announce their retention lists or when he goes under the hammer at the auction. The IPL 2027 retention rules and deadline guide explains how the process works this cycle.
Ishant Sharma IPL Career Batting Stats
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | Strike Rate | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117 | 28 | 57 | 10* | 9.50 | 82.61 | 4 | 2 |
Batting has never been part of Ishant’s job description. In 117 IPL matches he has faced only 69 balls, and his career high of 10 not out came against Chennai Super Kings in 2019, when he briefly cut loose with a four and a six.
Ishant Sharma IPL Career Bowling Stats
| Matches | Overs | Wickets | Best | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117 | 404.1 | 97 | 5/12 | 34.84 | 8.36 | 25.00 | 1 |
Ninety-seven wickets at an economy of 8.36 across 117 matches is the record of a dependable, if rarely spectacular, IPL seamer. The headline figure is the 5/12 — one five-wicket haul in a career spent mostly doing the unglamorous new-ball job. Twenty-one catches show he has been a safe pair of hands in the deep too.
Ishant Sharma IPL Stats by Year
| Season | Team | Mat | Wkts | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | GT | 0 | — | — |
| 2025 | GT | 7 | 4 | 11.18 |
| 2024 | DC | 9 | 10 | 9.81 |
| 2023 | DC | 8 | 10 | 8.24 |
| 2021 | DC | 3 | 1 | 8.08 |
| 2020 | DC | 1 | 0 | 8.66 |
| 2019 | DC | 13 | 13 | 7.58 |
| 2017 | KXIP | 6 | 0 | 9.94 |
| 2016 | RPS | 4 | 3 | 9.86 |
| 2015 | SRH | 4 | 1 | 11.35 |
| 2014 | SRH | 3 | 3 | 9.18 |
| 2013 | SRH | 16 | 15 | 7.81 |
| 2011 | Deccan | 12 | 11 | 7.13 |
| 2010 | KKR | 7 | 7 | 9.44 |
| 2009 | KKR | 11 | 11 | 6.90 |
| 2008 | KKR | 13 | 8 | 7.66 |
He did not play in 2012 (ankle surgery), and went unsold at the auctions in 2018 and 2022. Career totals: 117 matches, 97 wickets.
Ishant Sharma IPL Highest Score
Ishant Sharma’s highest IPL score is 10 not out, made against Chennai Super Kings in May 2019 while playing for Delhi Capitals. It came off just three balls and included a four and a six — a rare flash of batting from a man whose entire IPL batting output is 57 runs. Context matters here: this is not a batting record to celebrate, just the verified high-water mark of a specialist bowler’s time at the crease.
Ishant Sharma IPL Wickets and Best Bowling
Ishant’s career-defining IPL spell came in 2011 for the Deccan Chargers: 5/12, one of the finest bowling figures ever recorded by an Indian pacer in the league. Across his career he has 97 wickets in 117 matches at an average of 34.84 and a strike rate of 25.0 balls per wicket, with that single five-wicket haul standing alone as his standout day. His best recent season figures were 13 wickets in 2019 (best 3/38, economy 7.58) and ten wickets apiece in 2023 and 2024.
Ishant Sharma IPL Batting Records
There are no meaningful batting records to report for a specialist bowler. In 117 IPL matches Ishant has scored 57 runs at an average of 9.50 and a strike rate of 82.61, with a highest score of 10 not out, four fours and two sixes. His value has always been entirely with the ball.
Ishant Sharma IPL Auction Price History
| Season | Team | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Kolkata Knight Riders | INR 3.80 crore | Auction |
| 2009 | Kolkata Knight Riders | — | Retained |
| 2010 | Kolkata Knight Riders | — | Retained |
| 2011 | Deccan Chargers | INR 2.07 crore | Auction |
| 2012 | Deccan Chargers | INR 2.07 crore | Retained (injured, did not play) |
| 2013 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 2.60 crore | Auction |
| 2014 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 2.60 crore | Retained |
| 2015 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 2.60 crore | Retained |
| 2016 | Rising Pune Supergiants | INR 3.80 crore | Auction |
| 2017 | Kings XI Punjab | INR 2.00 crore | Auction |
| 2018 | — | — | Unsold |
| 2019 | Delhi Capitals | INR 1.10 crore | Auction |
| 2020 | Delhi Capitals | INR 1.10 crore | Retained |
| 2021 | Delhi Capitals | INR 1.10 crore | Retained |
| 2022 | — | — | Unsold |
| 2023 | Delhi Capitals | INR 50 lakh | Auction |
| 2024 | Delhi Capitals | INR 50 lakh | Retained |
| 2025 | Gujarat Titans | INR 75 lakh | Auction (mega auction) |
| 2026 | Gujarat Titans | INR 75 lakh | Retained |
| 2027 | Not officially confirmed | Not officially confirmed | — |
The price history tells its own story: from a INR 3.80 crore marquee signing in 2008 and 2016 to a INR 50 lakh bargain buy in 2023 — and teams kept finding room for him anyway.
Ishant Sharma IPL Records and Achievements
- 5/12 for Deccan Chargers (2011) — one of the best bowling figures by an Indian pacer in IPL history, and his only five-wicket haul.
- 117 IPL matches across nine seasons played, from the inaugural 2008 season to 2026 — a span few fast bowlers have matched.
- 97 IPL wickets at an economy of 8.36, the bulk of them taken with the new ball in the powerplay.
- 2019 comeback with Delhi Capitals — 13 wickets at an economy of 7.58 after going unsold in 2018, one of the best return seasons of his career.
- International pedigree — 105 Tests and 311 Test wickets for India, making him one of the most experienced bowlers ever to play the IPL.
Ishant Sharma’s IPL Performance Analysis
Ishant’s IPL graph has three distinct phases. The early years (2008–2011) were his statistical peak: his economy never crossed 7.7 between 2008 and 2011 except in an injury-hit 2010, and the 5/12 in 2011 confirmed what his height and swing could do on the right day. The middle years (2013–2017) were lean — 22 wickets in five seasons across three franchises, two unsold auctions bookending that stretch — as his pace dipped and T20 batting evolved around him.
Then came the second act. Delhi Capitals’ faith in 2019 produced 13 wickets at 7.58, and his 2023–24 returns (20 wickets in 17 matches at economies of 8.24 and 9.81) showed a bowler who had learned to survive through smarts rather than speed. But the 2025 season with Gujarat Titans was a clear step too far: 11.18 runs per over, his worst in any meaningful season, and a full year on the bench in 2026. The numbers suggest the playing career is at or near its end; the mentorship role he now fills is the one GT valued enough to keep paying for.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many wickets has Ishant Sharma taken in the IPL?
Ishant Sharma has taken 97 wickets in 117 IPL matches, at an average of 34.84, an economy of 8.36 and a best of 5/12.
Which team does Ishant Sharma play for in the IPL?
He last played for Gujarat Titans, who bought him for INR 75 lakh at the 2025 mega auction and retained him for 2026. His 2027 team is not officially confirmed.
What are Ishant Sharma’s best bowling figures in the IPL?
5/12 for the Deccan Chargers in 2011 — one of the best figures ever recorded by an Indian pacer in the league.
What was Ishant Sharma’s IPL 2025 price?
Gujarat Titans bought him for INR 75 lakh at the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Did Ishant Sharma play in IPL 2026?
No. He was retained by Gujarat Titans for INR 75 lakh but did not play a single match in the 2026 season.
When did Ishant Sharma make his IPL debut?
In the inaugural 2008 season, for Kolkata Knight Riders, who signed him for INR 3.80 crore.
Is Ishant Sharma playing in IPL 2027?
Not officially confirmed. The 2027 season has not started and his retention status with Gujarat Titans has not been officially announced.
Sources and Data Notes
Season and career figures were cross-checked across FantasyKhiladi, CricketSky, MyKhel, Cricketman2, SportsCafe, InsideSport and CricketWinner match reporting, with the official IPL site (iplt20.com) as the reference standard. Career totals used: 117 matches, 97 wickets, 404.1 overs, best 5/12, economy 8.36 — the season-by-season wicket tally (which sums to 97) is drawn from the most internally consistent published breakdown; match counts for some pre-2020 seasons vary by a handful of games across sources. 2027 team and price details are reported only where officially confirmed.
Statistics and player information are checked against available reliable sources and may be updated as new IPL matches, transfers, or official announcements are confirmed.
Statistics updated through: 9 October 2026
