Chetan Sharma lauds ‘mature’ Ishant, feels bowler leading the pack well
FORMER INDIAN FAST BOWLER Chetan Sharma has hailed India’s bowling performances in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval. The veteran pacer has been especially impressed with the tall and lanky Delhi bowler, Ishant Sharma.
Ishant, who has been under immense pressure for his poor performances in away matches, provided crucial breakthroughs for India in the recently concluded Test match at Colombo. He maintained discipline and consistency in his bowling.
"Ishant is bowling well. I was in Sri Lanka and I spoke to him for half-an-hour. He sounded a very mature fast bowler. There used to be shy bowlers who used to sneak past their seniors in order to avoid a talk with them, but not Ishant, who comes and speaks to you. And that tells you about his confidence," Chetan told PTI in an interview.
"He understands what he is doing. And he has the backing of a lot of talented youngsters like Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and (Mohammed) Shami is yet to join the squad. I don't think there is a problem in the pace department. If a pacer can pick up 2-3 wickets on the sub-continent tracks then I believe he has done his job," said the cricketer-turned-commentator.
He's not the only one. Ex-Indian batsman and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar also appreciated Ishant's efforts with the ball.
That great work horse of Ind cricket,Ishant Sharma getting two crucial breakthroughs with two superb deliveries wth 2nd new ball. #INDvSL
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 22, 2015
Chetan himself represented India in 23 Tests and 65 ODIs in a career that spanned a decade. He believes India will be spoilt for choices in home conditions as far as pace bowling goes.
"I think in India, the think-tank will be spoilt for choices. On turning wickets there will be a problem of plenty as we saw it here when Varun (Aaron) played then Umesh was brought in. Ishant has already cemented his place.
"These bowlers have also got the strength to perform on Australian and English wickets. They have the ability, with Umesh bowling at around 145 and Varun also having the pace. It's just a matter of experience and that will certainly come with time. Being with the team makes you learn. Your senior players and coaches talk to you and you gain from their experience, so it's all a learning curve," he added.
Chetan also praised off-spinner R Ashwin (5/42), who incidentally surpassed Chetan’s figures (5/118) – the previous best by an Indian bowler in Sri Lanka.
