Erratic Ishant toils on the fringes on Sri Lanka tour
PALLEKELE : When the rest of the team adjourns for lunch in this Test series, Ishant Sharma is bowling in the middle. Only during breaks can the bowling coach work on his second string as his main focus is on the eleven.
To his credit though, the fast bowler has adjusted to the unfamiliar role without fuss and with a smiling face. But it should be a challenge for a man who was the star on the last tour of Sri Lanka.
Ishant has already played 77 Tests, and taken 218 wickets. But the he remains the biggest enigma of Indian cricket. Two years ago, when India played in the series decider at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground, Ishant was the match-winner, claiming five wickets in the first innings and three in the second.
It was the kind of impact performance expected of the most experienced bowler in the team. He has completed 10 years since making his India debut in 2007.
His entry was dramatic, a five-wicket haul against Pakistan in his second Test was followed by incisive bowling on the Australia tour. He was marked out to lead the Indian pace attack for the next decade. But the career hasn’t gone on expected lines with only sporadic success.
When India played at the S SC last week though, he was warm- ing the bench. He is in the scheme of things, as part of the India pace set up. But given his experience, one would have expected him to lead the attack rather than be on the fringes.
The promise he showed, especially on the 2007-08 series in Australia, led many to see him as a successor to Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan.
Ishant got the opportunities, having played 12 Tests in twoyears, but after SSC, impact performances have been absent. He has been out of favour after taking three wickets in three Tests in the series against Australia.
The action shifts to Pallekele. The wicket is known to assist pacers and teams consider adding an extra pacer. Shami and Umesh are the spearheads, but Bhuvneshwar too has the edge over Ishant for the fourth bowler’s spot.