#360view: Ishant needs to lead India's bowling attack

Ajit Vijaykumar 07:45 08/12/2014
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  • The main man: Sharma needs to step up as the more experienced member of India's bowling attack.

    Before the start of the Test series Down Under, India fast bowler Ishant Sharma gave his thoughts about what he expects out of the gargantuan tour of Australia that includes four Tests, a triangular ODI series and culminates in February's World Cup.

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    Ishant’s state of mind and body stirs up a debate every time he tours abroad, not only because he has the ability to inflict the most damage among the Indian bowlers because his effort almost dictates the way the team performs.

    So I read his views carefully and a few quotes stood out.

    “On the next tour (in 2012), I expected a bit too much of myself. I couldn’t do that well that time. This time I will try to control my feelings, keep my emotions in check.” and: “The thing is, I don’t see myself as a role model or anyone. What I need to do first of all is, focus on my own bowling.”

    The 26-year-old Delhi fast bowler strongly believes the pressure of expectations after his brilliant series in Australia in 2008 led to his insipid performances last time around when the Indians lost 4-0. 

    The thing is, Ishant is completely wrong on both fronts. Firstly, what the Indian fans hoped for their team to achieve the last time their stars travelled to Australia is not even close to what they will be praying for this time.

    It’s a World Cup year and this is a young, vibrant and talented India. There are no ageing superstars and the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are beginning to make their mark. Rest assured, expectations for the entire team will be very high.

    Even more so when it comes to Ishant.

    The lanky pacer is in his seventh year in inter­national cricket. He found success straightaway, then saw a few flaws creep into his bowling and struggled with injury. But he has always been in the mix, such is his potential.

    It’s only this year that Ishant has started to deliver on a some­what consistent basis. His bowling began to pick up from the tour of New Zealand at the start of the year and culminated in the outstanding performance of the Lord’s Test where his vicious bouncers sealed a memorable win.

    But injury followed and by the time he returned for the final Test in England, the mo­mentum and the series was gone. Still, Ishant showed he can pose a threat for a longer duration of time and this is going to be crucial in Australia.

    One expects any player with a smattering of talent to fulfil his potential after such a time at the top of his sport, barring any drastic turn of events on or off the field. He simply has to come up with the goods this time.

    A below-par effort isn’t an option.

    He has the likes of swing bowler Kumar and out-and-out quicks Aaron and Umesh Yadav to carry the workload. So he can’t even complain about being over­burdened, as was the case when India had a Zaheer Khan with questionable fitness and stamina in the side.

    As regards to him not being a role model, or leading the way, Ishant needs to be told by the management that he must begin to act like the leader of the pack. He can’t just sit back, do his bit and talk about learning from past experience for his personal gains. He is the second-most experienced player in the Indian side and must assert himself a lot more.

    If Ishant needs to learn how to go about accomplishing that, he just needs to see what New Zealand seamer Tim Southee has managed.

    Southee made his debut a year after the India quick and has raised his game each passing year and is now a bona fide leader of the Kiwi attack.

    In the last three years, he has picked up 25 wickets (from six Tests in 2012), 36 (in eight Tests in 2013) and 27 (in eight games this year). In ODIs, he has 17 wickets from 13 ODIs in 2012 and 10 from eight games in 2013 and this year. More importantly, his economy rate in ODIs over the three year period has been 5.02, 4.84 and 5.45.

    Ishant, by comparison, has only come into his own in Tests this year, picking up 29 wickets from five Tests. But in ODIs, he has been disappointing, going from 35 wickets in 22 ODIs last year to six from five at an economy rate of 6.05 in 2014.

    So if Southee can slowly raise his game and take the role of a leader while maintaining his swing and pace – as he showed against Pakistan on the placid UAE surface in the recent Test series – surely Ishant can do the same. It’s time for the tall quick to stop lurking in the shadows and make things hap­pen with the ball. He owes it to the team, his fans and himself.

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