That he was India's brightest fast bowling find in 2008 is hard to believe going by the way he is bowling to the Sri Lankans
That he was India's brightest fast bowling find in 2008 is hard to believe going by the way he is bowling to the Sri Lankans
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The inconsistency of fast bowler Ishant Sharma is puzzling. Just like the first day of the opening Test at Galle, Ishant was wayward and milked for runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club yesterday.
However, on the third morning at Galle (after the second day was washed out), he was almost unplayable.
South African fast bowling legend Allan Donald, who is working as a TV expert for the series, analysed Ishant's problem as not having 'learnt his game'. Donald remarked that it is a problem faced by young bowlers who are blooded before they are actually ready ufffd South Africa's Morne Morkel is another example.
Too less
Ishant had one season of first-class cricket behind him, with just six Ranji games and a few domestic one-day and Twenty20 games when he made his Test debut in 2007.u00a0 His entry was dramatic as he picked up a five-wicket haul in his second Test against Pakistan and went on to rock Ricky Ponting's men in Australia.
He had a good season in 2008 but his form started to dip in 2009 and since then he has been inconsistent.
Consistency is the hallmark of champion players and that is what separates truly great players from one-season wonders. Masters like Donald, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath and Wasim Akram delivered in all conditions and they understood exactly what worked for them and stuck to their strengths.
Madan Lal, India's coach when Sri Lanka amassed a record 952 runs in Colombo, 1997, said Ishant's problem was inconsistency in length. "Sri Lankan wickets are flat. The only option is to bowl a consistent length and build pressure. There's nothing wrong with his bowling otherwise," said Madan. Ishant had figures of 15-4-66-1 yesterday.
Any answers?
Venkatesh Prasad, India's bowling coach when Ishant made his Test debut, said the current national coaches should be doing the answering when it comes to talking about the bowler.u00a0
Asked what was going for Ishant when he was doing well, Prasad said: "His strength is pace and extra bounce. He works extremely hard on his bowling. He's a quick learner as well. We were playing against Pakistan at Bangalore (3rd Test, December 2007) and Ishant bowled a wayward six-over spell. That evening, we did a few drills and the next day he picked up a five-wicket haul."
Apart fromu00a0 Prasad, Ishant has worked with a lot of big names including Wasim Akram, Andy Bichel (both at Knight Riders), and now Eric Simmons. But, no one has been able to solve his problems. Maybe, he has to 'learn his game' himself.
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