Ishant wipes slate to start all over again

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"Ishant is bowling as well as he has done before. It may not be against international quality, but being a fast bowler is all in the mind. It will give him the confidence to return to where he belongs," Sharma says, while speaking to Sportline. More... Ishant wipes slate to start all over again Yahoonews, Indian Express, 05 May 2010 The last time he was at the Roshanara Cricket Club, all was well in Ishant Sharma's world. As a spectator for the Delhi-Maharshtra Ranji Trophy match in December last year, Ishant was very much an integral component of the national team - which was in the middle of its T20 leg of the Sri Lanka series. In-transit after a brilliant bowling performance in Nagpur against the visiting Lankans, Ishant dropped by to lend moral support to his state colleagues at the Roshanara, before flying off to Mohali for the second match. Six months of spirally downwards and hitting the rock bottom later, Ishant was back at the picturesque club in Old Delhi on Monday to pick up the pieces. Vying his trade in a local tournament - the Omnath Sood Memorial - for his club side ONGC, Ishant showed flashes of his old self with some nippy bowling against ITC, while leading his side with a match winning performance. He was quick, accurate and deadly during his two short bursts, claiming the openers in his first spell, before returning to damage the middle-order in his second (5-1-17-3). Watching every move like a hawk from the dressing room, ONGC coach AN Sharma believes that Ishant has successfully overhauled the first step of a long and arduous journey back to Team India. "Ishant is bowling as well as he has done before. It may not be against international quality, but being a fast bowler is all in the mind. It will give him the confidence to return to where he belongs," Sharma says, while speaking to Sportline. The coach feels that Ishant's greatest strength has been in the belief he has in his own ability. "When an international player is undergoing transition, playing in local fixtures is the answer to all problems. He has not lost any of his confidence and I believe that self-confidence is the key to performing at any stage. "From my end I am just trying to make sure that he does not feel dejected by any of the proceedings. As long as he remains confident in his abilities, we will see a lot more of such performances," he says. While time would have certainly have been one of the constraints for Ishant during the tightly packed international schedule, the fast bowler has plenty of it in a local fixture. AN Sharma explains. "Going back to the basics has helped Ishant. He also has plenty of time to experiment. When Ishant was bowling for India against international players, it was not easy to try something different. Here he has all the time in the world. Every international player goes through a rough patch. He is very young and has time on his side." Prior to the ongoing tournament in the Capital, AN Sharma claims that the quick was bowling to his potential in an All-India Petroleum tournament in Mumbai last month. "Former Test players such as Wasim Jaffer were participating and Ishant held his own against them. I knew that the climb to the top had begun." While his national side colleagues fight as a team to regain their 2007 title in the West Indies, Ishant is battling alone to regain his 2007 form at the grassroots in Roshanara.

[vvvslaxman]

When he was picked i was surprised at his selection. But against Pakistan when he started bringing the ball back in consistently he looked more potent. He was smooth and effortless with his deliveries. One thing i was very much against was including Ishant for ODis . I knew it would mess up his test bowling. But they played him in ODIs. Then he got a 950,000 IPL contract. There again he got spanked around. Predictably he is not good in any format at this point. Good thing is age is on his side.

[hitman1980]

Again .. u can't judge a bowler based on t20 performances .. He did well in test matches at bangladesh and nz .. I agree he was disappointing in ODIs and t20 .. but as far as I remember .. in ODIs he got bulk of catches dropped off his bowling and tht really can pull someone down .. Atleast give this man some decent lively pitches before judging him if he is out of form or wht ..

[saneindian]

Ishant and Sreesanth will be the two key bowlers for us in SA. I hope they are both back on track in the next 2-3 months.

[Show_stopper]

With Ishant..there is no place in the side for him unless he bowls CONSISTENTLY above 140 kph. He is never going to learn how to swing the ball at this stage. It should be made clear to him bowl fast or don't bowl at all. Bowling around 135-137 kph is not going to make him a good bowler.

[thevortex]

Having seen Ishant for quite some time now, I have a pet theory. Somebody has told him that there are two kinds of bowlers - ones who create wickets for others to take and ones who take them, reap the rewards so to speak. With his potent in-dipping deliveries and awkward bounce allied nippy pace he belonged to the former group originally. Halfway into his fledgling career the leg cutter started making an appearance. Thereafter there was this mysterious loss of pace. And guess what - Ishant no longer had that nip back into the right hander which left Ponting red in the face and frothing at the mouth because the ball had for the nth time passed between the bat and his body, shaving nothing but air. One can only be what one is built to be. Ishant is another Srinath or another Flintoff. They are pressure creators. And a team needs all kinds of performers. He just needs to get his in-dipper in place and at pace. The rest will follow. His newly learned leg cutter should be a surprise weapon - sort of like a coup de grace. Not one to be used every other ball by any means.

[Serani]

Waste of space.

[CSK Fan]

Waste of space.

dont be too sure, he is only 20. Lots of time for him to make you eat your words

[nballa]

ipl was the worst thing to happen to ishanth, in fact any bowler. its hard to get up from taking such a pounding from the batsmen. its hard not to get discouraged when nobody's from domestic cricket start tonking experienced pacemen all around. look at bret lee. As a sportsperson i can vouch for this.

[graphic23]

ipl was the worst thing to happen to ishanth' date=' in fact any bowler. its hard to get up from taking such a pounding from the batsmen. its hard not to get discouraged when nobody's from domestic cricket start tonking experienced pacemen all around. look at bret lee. As a [b']sportsperson i can vouch for this.

:hysterical: Out of curiosity, what sport do you play? And w.r.t Ishant, its a sin that BCCI is committing by not letting him play in England. He can really grow from that experience. Sigh.

[nballa]

:hysterical: Out of curiosity, what sport do you play? And w.r.t Ishant, its a sin that BCCI is committing by not letting him play in England. He can really grow from that experience. Sigh.

All sports any sports.

[nballa]

you are right though he must go to england. Ishanth needs to start over and go back to what made him so potent in the first place - helpful tracks.

[ViruRulez]

I would not take him into the team for a year or so .. let him earn his spot this time round instead of getting readymade spot For now I would like to see the IPL pacer Umesh Yadav in the Indian team in a few months when he is still capable of bowling the 145+ bowling

[achilles]

dont be too sure' date=' he is only 20. Lots of time for him to make you eat your words[/quote'] Sarcasm, dude. He's just being sarcastic. Chhod na :two_thumbs_up:

ipl was the worst thing to happen to ishanth' date=' in fact any bowler.[/quote'] Why don't Dirk Nannes, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Chaminda Vaas, RP Singh and some of your own - Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Asif... why don't these guys agree with you? Enough of the hate man, seriously.

[Mr. Wicket]

As a sportsperson i can vouch for this.

To quote one of our most esteemed minds a resident troll [not a valued or favoured one], "please come with proof or don't come again."

[Karan114]

Ishant eyeing Tests in Lanka to regain India spot Ishant eyeing Tests in Lanka to regain India spot MUMBAI: Omitted from the Asia Cup squad, out-of-favour speedster Ishant Sharma is targeting the subsequent Test series in Sri Lanka to stage a comeback into the Indian team. "Selection is not in my hands. It is in the hands of the Board (selectors). I am currently focusing on the India-Sri Lanka Test series," said the 21-year-old bowler on the sidelines of a promotional event. Sri Lanka will clash with India at home in a three-Test rubber from July 10-30. The lanky pacer, who has struggled for form of late, said he was concentrating to improve his fitness and bowling. "I am currently working on my fitness and my bowling. There are many who are giving me advice," he said. "I have also spoken to Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj told me that I had the potential and just needed to push myself," the Delhi bowler said. Ishant, who was not picked for the ongoing Zimbabwe tour and India A tour of England either, said he was going through a tough phase and was trying his best to overcome it. "It happens to everyone. I am currently going through a tough phase. The important thing is to rise above the challenge and perform well," said the lanky paceman, who has 66 Test and 56 ODI victims. Ishant also rubbished suggestions that he was good only in the longer version of the game. "If I felt I was fit only for Test matches, I would not have played in the IPL, Twenty20s or ODIs," he said. Ishant said he learned to bowl outswingers from former Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram, bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, which he represented in the Indian Premier League. "Wasim has worked very hard on me and also taught me to bowl outswingers which I had never bowled before. He also told me to always be a thinking bowler," he added. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/interviews/Ishant-eyeing-Tests-in-Lanka-to-regain-India-spot/articleshow/6028771.cms

[zubinpepsi]

i see a pattern here.. all the wasted young players have yuvi as their mentor..

[msb1991]

The India A tour to England would have been so perfect for Ishant Sharma, it is a shame he wasn't selected.

[Serani]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/image/462472.html?page=1 Looks like Ishant has been busy working on his bowling [on the playstation]

[Clarke]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/image/462472.html?page=1 Looks like Ishant has been busy working on his bowling [on the playstation]

Hey thats Indian cricket culture (cricketers making millions promoting stuff), dont make fun of our culture :hitler: