Ishant Sharma not to fly to South Africa

Teenager Ishant Sharma will not fly to South Africa after all.

After a day of high drama when BCCI first said that the 18-year-old Delhi fast bowler would leave for South Africa on December 31 -- prompting even a happy reaction from the paceman himself  -- came the final word from the chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar.

Vengsarkar, currently in South Africa, said it had been decided finally to allow Sharma to concentrate on domestic cricket for the moment.

"Initially Ishant was being considered to be drafted into the Indian squad. However, considering his Ranji Trophy schedule for Delhi, it has now been decided not to have him fly down to Cape Town and instead, allow him to concentrate in his domestic first class matches," he said in a statement.

Ishant was being considered as a replacement for an out of form Irfan Pathan who will head back for home tomorrow morning, taking a flight to Mumbai via Johannesburg.

It was a bizarre turn of events for the 6 foot four inch Sharma who is currently playing Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra in Rajkot.

Having made his Ranji Trophy debut only this season, the bowler has impressed with his rich haul of 19 wickets from four matches at an average of 19.52 and economy rate of 2.41.

He took another three wickets for Delhi in Saurashtra's first innings.