In an honest introspection of his bowling, Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma has come to the conclusion that he has not been in his best form in the limited overs cricket format, unlike the longer version where he is the pace spearhead.
You have to be honest with yourself and that makes it easier for you to accept things. I have to accept that I didn’t do well in shorter formats. But I am doing well in Tests and so I know what my strengths are. It’s important to know what your strengths are.Ishant Sharma
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Commenting on how each bowler’s specialisation differs, Ishant said:
Bhuvi’s (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) strength is swing but he can’t extract the bounce like I can do. Similarly, I can’t get the ball to swing like Bhuvi.
With 201 wickets from 68 Test matches, the senior-most speedster stated that he is sharing his experiences with fellow pacers Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar, Shardul Thakur.
I am sharing my experiences and hoping that what worked for me will also work for them. But then they have to also identify their areas of strength.
To overcome the “challenging” conditions in the Caribbean islands, Ishant has stressed the importance of “recovery” for the pacers. However, Ishant said that flat pitches can’t be an excuse, the pacers need to bowl in the right areas.
You have to have enough overs under your belt. You have to work hard enough even if conditions are not favourable. It is easy to give up and say there’s nothing in the wicket so spinners will do the job and we will only try to hit the right areas. It doesn’t work like that.Ishant Sharma
He added:
I like to go flat out whether it is my second or third spell. I love to give my hundred percent.
(With PTI inputs.)