Anil Kumble: Ek aur karega? Ishant Sharma: Haan, karoonga
ON A dry fourth afternoon in Perth, 19-year-old Ishant Sharma had just bowled seven overs on the trot — enough for captain Anil Kumble to give him a break. It was then that Virender Sehwag told Kumble, “Achchi rhythm mein daal raha hai, ek aur over karega. Main jaanta hoon usko, Dilli ke liye daala hai” (He’s bowling in good rhythm, he’ll bowl another over. I know him, he’s bowled a lot for Delhi).
The result: Ponting c Dravid b Ishant. Brought into the attack in the 20th over, Ishant bowled 27 balls to the Aussie skipper, ending that spell with a dismissal that became the talking point of India’s Test series in Australia.
Now that the rabble-rousing tour has finally ended with on-field clashes making as much news as India’s historic win, it is time to focus on what lies ahead for Ishant, the find of the season. To bowl at 150 kmph on your first overseas assignment isn’t expected of every bowler. In fact, no one in history has managed it ever before. Ishant has given this cricket-mad country a lot to talk about. And he has entered the bull-ring where demands on him will only increase. Ishant will soon enter the most difficult phase in the life of a young cricketer — where the ordinary ones lose their way, and the greats remain.
Former India bowler and Delhi selector Vivek Razdan watched Ishant as a 16-year-old. Tall and lanky, the young boy had the action, physique and temperament to play first-class cricket. It was a matter of time, Razdan remembers evaluating as a selector back then, that Ishant would make it to the next level.
Now, Razdan is wondering what Ishant will make out of his success in Australia. At 19 years of age, does he have it in him to understand that self-education will now be as important as bowling itself? “Ishant has to teach himself to know the requirements of his body in order to stay fit. He has to learn to swim through the potential hazards that he’s bound to face,” says Razdan.
The previous find
When India had returned from Australia in 2003-04, it was Irfan Pathan who had been the find of the tour. Four wickets in two Tests, and the ability to generate lethal swing, had turned Pathan into an overnight hero. Former Pakistan great Wasim Akram took him under his tutelage, former India captain Kapil Dev had words of advice, Ian Frazer — Greg Chappell’s assistant — was put in charge of him, and Chappell himself decided to become Pathan’s mentor. Back home in Baroda, Pathan’s school-time coach Mehndi Shaikh was chased for quotes.
It turned out to be a time when Indian Cricket spent a year blindly celebrating Pathan’s success, and the next year mindlessly lamenting his failure.
The left-arm bowler, after returning from Australia, toured Pakistan, played Australia again and later South Africa at home, toured Bangladesh, then Pakistan at home, toured Zimbabwe, played Sri Lanka at home, toured Pakistan again, followed by England at home — all of this in a span of 25 months. Through the journey, both fitness and form deserted Pathan by the time India toured West Indies in 2006. And swing, his most lethal weapon, went missing too.
Former India bowler and coach at MRF, TA Sekar, remembers those days. “Pathan was a classic example of a bowler who was burdened by too many suggestions, too much cricket and very little self-introspection. It is definitely a lesson for bowlers like Ishant, to look back and learn where their priorities should lie,” says Sekar.
After Pathan’s form nosedived in 2006, the bowler found it surprisingly difficult to make a comeback. He made it to the World Cup but was dropped again, either injury or lack of form plaguing him. It was the T20 championship that eventually restored his career, and even now he does not make it on his bowling alone but because of what his batting adds to his repertoire.
Sekar talks about how Ishant may soon discover that bowlers like Pathan have walked the same path before. “He’ll suddenly find too many things happening, too many claiming credit for his success. He needs to be careful . He needs to be himself, and bowl the way he does. Kapil Dev is the best example and Ishant can learn from the way he went about his career,” says Sekar.
