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Ishant Sharma (born 2 September 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has represented India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He is a 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) tall right-arm fast-medium bowler.
At the age of 18, Sharma was called to join the Indian squad for the tour of South Africa in 2006–07. However, after receiving the call and organising travel arrangements, it was decided not to send him on the tour. In reference to his height and lean physique in his Under-19 days, the bowler was nicknamed Lambu. In 2011, he became the fifth youngest player to take 100 Test wickets. Against South Africa in 2013, Ishant Sharma became the fifth quickest Indian to grab 100 ODI wickets. While being a "rhythm" bowler, he still is considered one of the fastest Indian bowlers having bowled in excess of 150 km/h on several occasions in international cricket as well as the IPL, his fastest being 152 km/h.
A right arm fast-medium bowler, the speed of Sharma's bowling has diminished since he emerged on the international scene, although in 2008 he bowled a delivery at over 152 kilometres per hour (94 mph). Such occurrences were not the norm as his pace dropped to around 130 km/h (81 mph), but under Eric Simons (who was India's bowling coach from 2010 to 2012) Sharma was regularly bowling in excess of 140 km/h (87 mph) when India toured Australia in 2011/12. According to India's former bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad he is amongst the most dedicated bowler in India's set up.
Simons noted height was a factor in the length Sharma bowled, saying "For Ishant to hit the stumps, he has to pitch it fuller, and that means the batsman has more chance of keeping it out". Former West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh identified two problems with Sharma's bowling action: his head drops when the ball is delivered and the position of his wrist varies. The first takes some of the speed out of the delivery, while the second reduces the chance of the ball seaming and swinging. The former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that the lack of movement in Sharma's bowling discouraged him from pitching the ball up so instead he tends to bowl short. The slower pace of his bowling when he pitches the ball up may explain why the yorker is not an effective delivery for him. Manjrekar went further, saying that "for all his talent and commitment he just does not take enough wickets"; when the remark was made in January 2012, Sharma had a bowling average of nearly 37 from 43 Tests.
At a time when there was a dearth of genuine fast bowlers in India, Ishant Sharma was like a breath of fresh air as he burst into the limelight with his sharp pace and accurate bowling. You turn back the pages of cricketing history and one would have enduring memories of the lanky bowler making look batting miserable for Ricky Ponting. His seven-over spell in the second innings of the Perth Test of 2008 is one of his most talked about spells by an Indian bowler as an Australian legend had been trumped by a youngster playing just his fourth Test. Ishant’s honeymoon period in Australia continued as he helped India win the last ever annual Tri-series ODI competition down under baggin the most wickets for the visitors. But since his initial success, Ishant has struggled to make a sustained impact because of injury woes. Yet, whenever he has been brought back into the Indian Test side, his contributions have been steady. The 2010 series against Australia and New Zealand in 2010 at home is a case in point.
His ability to generate bounce from his height makes him a vital asset for India’s overseas tours, particularly those played outside the subcontinent. Sharma is also known for being a stubborn lower-order bat. He showed a lot of commitment with the bat teaming up with VVS Laxman in 2010 to register an iconic win against Ausralia in Mohali.
He has often received a lot of criticism for being inconsistent even after playing more than fifty Test matches for India. For Ishant though it is a constant learning process and the road to success will definitely come his way. In 2014, he took center stage with a seven-wicket haul against England at Lord’s which helped India win at the Home of Cricket after 28 years. In Ishant there is hope and a constant prayer for him to be India’s next leader of the pace attack.
His ability to generate bounce from his height makes him a vital asset for India’s overseas tours, particularly those played outside the subcontinent. Sharma is also known for being a stubborn lower-order bat. He showed a lot of commitment with the bat teaming up with VVS Laxman in 2010 to register an iconic win against Ausralia in Mohali.
He has often received a lot of criticism for being inconsistent even after playing more than fifty Test matches for India. For Ishant though it is a constant learning process and the road to success will definitely come his way. In 2014, he took center stage with a seven-wicket haul against England at Lord’s which helped India win at the Home of Cricket after 28 years. In Ishant there is hope and a constant prayer for him to be India’s next leader of the pace attack.
