Ishant's Unfulfilled Promise

            Ishant Sharma, since making his senior International debut as a 19 year old in 2007, has seen it all, and has had a topsy-turvy career, to say the least. A lanky, long-haired giant whose appearance is along the lines of a Gina Bellman, he made the headlines for his successful spell "down-under", firstly from his wonderfully probing spell of bowling to Australian legend Ricky Ponting in Perth 2008, then for his ability to generate significant pace and movement, which saw him become the leading wicket-taker for India in his first full limited overs series. Since the days of Javagal Srinath, India had not been able to produce a player with genuine pace, but Ishant soon broke this trend, clocking the second fastest delivery ever bowled by an Indian, 152.6 km/h (94.8 mph) at Adelaide. Throughout 2008, Ishant went from strength-to-strength, in impressive Test performances at home, and from then, he was frequently tipped for huge success in representing this cricket-mad nation.

Ponting bowled by Sharma. Ishant again showing his talent with a Man of the Series performance in the 2008 home series vs. Australia

           However, over the last few years, it has been a rocky road for the lanky pacer. After being the most sought-after young player in Indian and World cricket, he took part in all forms of the game, and the inaugural Indian Premier League T20 tournament. Perhaps this was the wrong decision made for young Ishant. Being thrown into the wilderness of so many contrasting forms of cricket culminated with a significant decline, with a conspicuous drop in pace, persistent back-of-a-length bowling, and suddenly, this pace prospect who took the world by storm seemed to have been trapped in its gale. He struggled for consistency, wickets and was often clobbered by those opponents who originally saw him in his prime, to the point where the BCCI had to shield him from the limited overs format. He struggled to hold down a permanent place in the team and during this period, according to Ishant himself, he tried to mimic the bowling action of his successful senior fast bowling teammate Zaheer Khan.

               Ishant cuts a forlorn figure as he struggles for form

                      However, one can never say that Ishant does not persevere. He is a player who gives his all whenever he steps onto the field with the ball, and even with the bat (where he's proven to be a valuable nightwatchman). He worked hard on his bowling, and was back with a bang, where he, at home to New Zealand and away to the West Indies, showed a real return of his pace, troubling bounce and movement, and in the latter, was the Man of the Series and leading wicket-taker in a successful tour of the Caribbean.

2011 Return to form: Ishant with a man of the series performance in the Caribbean with 22 wickets in 3 tests

          This same year of 2011 was a year of two halves for India, one being of absolute joy, with India capturing the World Cup title in their own backyard, and one of embarrassment away from the subcontinent. Ishant was subsequently called-up after India's post-World Cup success for a series away to a world-beating England side. After an injury to Zaheer, Ishant was thrusted into leading this weakened Indian side, and this turned out to devastate India, as they were humiliated with a 4-0 series whitewash. Amidst the poor performances of this Indian side, Ishant, albeit without much success, gained admirers for his perseverance and effort for his Indian team, which was undeniable. While lacking the penetration, he showed the fight, and walked away from this series having taken 11 wickets in the 4 tests, figures which make relatively unspectacular reading, but a spot of sympathy was made in the hearts of many cricket-fans, Indian or non-Indian.

Can't catch a break? Ishant bemoans his luck in an embarrasing 4-0 series defeat and India's loss of their Number 1 ranking in Tests

         Last year in 2012, the pattern of away tests continued for the Indians, who started the year with an embarrasing 4-0 whitewash against the Australians, where Ishant, albeit with a very high work rate, clearly struggled to make inroads in a resurgent Australian batting line-up. He bowled better than his figures suggest, but may have be a victim of a pessimistic attitude taken by Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the field, with Ishant creating a few chances and inside-edges, but in this few incidents, fielders have not been present or able to pounce on these chances.

           Now at the age of 24, the question must be raised, "Should Ishant still be treated by his team, coaching staff and the Indian board as a young prospect?" Yes he is still relatively young, but he has experience from 2007, and has played almost 50 tests for the Indian team. It is indubitable that it is time for Ishant to be viewed upon by his team, his selectors, his coaches, and most importantly, himself, as a senior bowler if he wants to to return to the summit of his career and even beyond. Ishant needs to put his hand up, and ensure that his captain sets offensive fields for him to attack the batsmen, pitch the ball further up, and return to his wicket-taking ways. This must be done soon enough, or else Ishant will become another one of India's pace prospects to lose the plot and not go on to become a legend in world cricket, a la Ajit Agarkar, Sreesanth, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel.

            Ishant hasn't been robbed of chances. Now in 2013, he has been given another go, this time in limited-overs cricket after injuries to his colleagues in better form. To his credit, after a drawn T20 series and 2-1 ODI defeat at home to neighbours Pakistan, Ishant was one of the few positives for India. He appeared to have regained some control, taking wickets with an uncharacteristically tidy economy rate. However, these perfomances have been efficient rather than spellbinding. He also had a decent, if not inconsistent IPL campaign with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which his season ranged from a Man of the Match display against the Mumbai Indians, to the dubious honour of the worst figures in IPL history: 0/66 in 4 overs against the Chennai Super Kings.

            With the contention of uncharacteristically, and genuinely quick Indian bowlers, such as Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, with the potential return of the pace attack in Zaheer Khan, the presence of Praveen Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Parvinder Awana, Ishwar Pandey and Shami Ahmed, as well as with the U-19 World Cup-winning pace prospects knocking on the door, the opening for Ishant may be getting narrower and narrower. He has the ability, but, for his sake, he has got to find and surpass the form of 2008-09. I, for one, have always been a fan of Ishant ever since he entered the frame. I had never seen a bowler with Ishant's characteristics come out of India. Ishant has all the attributes a fast bowler needs: pace, bounce, swing and seam movement. He has too much ability not to be the spearhead of this Indian pace attack for now, and for years to come.      


Written by: Racheed Mani
Age: 18
From: New York, USA
Residing in: Kingston, Jamaica