OPINION
Follow UsRecall your first sight of Ishant Sharma. Now answer what was the first thing you noticed about him.
If you have been following his career since his Test debut as a lanky 18-year old pacer, it might have been his prominent Adam’s apple, his height or long hair. The point is his bowling is less likely to have taken precedence in your mind. After all, he did not do much to grant your attention in his Test debut versus Bangladesh in 2007.
Moving onto his second Test, Ishant carved an image for himself. The image of a workhorse. On a lifeless Bangalore pitch, he picked 5/118 against a formidable Pakistan batting. Aged only 19 and still a 12th standard student at Ganga International School, Ishant bowled 33.1 overs, showing shades of Javagal Srinath. Pakistan coach, Geoff Lawson said, “a reward for persistence rather than brilliance”.
Ishant carried this image throughout his career and it now reflects in his numbers after 14 years. He is now the 11th fast bowler to play 100 Tests which in itself requires a lot of perseverance. From India, he is only the second and if you consider players who have nothing more to offer than their pace bowling (batting average of less than 15), then he is the first from India and only the fifth overall.
That workhorse image enabled Ishant to structure one of the biggest moments of his early days in international cricket, i.e, not just dismissing Ricky Ponting, one of the batting giants of his times, but derailing him off his fantastical batting touch which had gone on for so long, so much so, it felt as if it will never fade away.
Ishant had bowled seven overs in his spell when the skipper, Anil Kumble thought about giving him a breather. However, with Ponting on the strike, who had struggled to shoulder arms to Ishant’s deliveries properly let alone middling them, Ishant’s captain at Delhi, Virender Sehwag suggested he can bowl another over. Kumble asked Ishant, “Ek aur karega?” (will you bowl one more) and Ishant replied, “Haa, karunga”, (Yes, I will). Ishant finally got the due for his hard work, getting Ponting out on the first ball of the eighth over of his spell and the second time in the match.
Ishant had the same zeal when he engineered India’s win at Lord’s in the second Test against England in 2014. The spell - seven wickets for 74 runs - revealed Ishant’s openness to adapt. The first two wickets of his 7-for came via full length deliveries but when the hosts were in the middle of a steady partnership, Ishant, at the suggestion of his captain, MS Dhoni, unleashed a short ball barrage to induce England’s collapse. It was not exactly the Mitchell Johnson-type bombardment but it was enough to script one of Indian cricket’s most famous Test victories.
Ishant was one of the first few cricketers under Dhoni to make it big. Fun fact: No other bowler delivered more overs than Ishant Sharma in Test cricket under Dhoni’s captaincy - 1649.1.
Ishant was not only about hard work. He had fun - Proving it on various instances. He was expressive but in different ways. Fans saw an unusual side of him when he mocked Steve Smith with the strangest expression - in a way mocking the Aussie batsman to put him off his game. Ishant took the internet by storm with social media platforms flooding with memes on him. It has been four years since then and Rohit Sharma still cannot stop laughing.
Two years prior to that, Ishant brought his inner Delhi-ite out against Dhammika Prasad. Tired with incessant bouncers, Ishant let his frustration out, hitting his helmet with his gloves while running past Prasad, as if showing him that his aim isn’t good enough. Earlier in that Test, Ishant had struck Prasad on his hands due to which the Sri Lankan pacer was bowling with his left hand wrapped in bandages.
He also had a cooler way to tackle situations. When asked about his preparations for the New Zealand tour in 2020, he had a Sehwagesque answer ready.
On other occasions, he put his teammate, Mohammed Shami under the spotlight. When Shami tried to get himself out of the situation, Ishant was in no mood to let him off the hook easily.
Ahead of the pink ball Test, Ishant Sharma seeks advice from Mohammed Shami. Funny banter between the two 😀
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2019
Full interview 👉👉https://t.co/hq1gKfhVIP pic.twitter.com/BcbzOmVKlm
Ishant has also showcased maturity in his pressers. It has been over five years since he last played white-ball cricket for India. On being asked about the same during Bangladesh’s visit to India in 2019, Ishant’s answer reflected how much he has grown as a person.
The maturity has reflected in his hairdo as well. The short and more tidy hair shows his eagerness to improve constantly. Well, jokes apart, he has been one of the most improved cricketers of late. He averaged 32.6 runs per wicket in the first 33 Tests of his career and 41.3 in the next 33. In his next 33 Tests (Test 67 to 99), he has bagged wickets at 23.4 runs per wicket. Since 2018, his average is a staggering 19.3, second only to Jason Holder amongst 30 bowlers to have taken over 50 wickets.
Apart from adjusting his length, Ishant also started bowling more often from around the wicket. Until 2018, he bowled roughly 10 percent of his overs coming around the wicket. Since then, that percentage has increased to 31.9. He can actually be termed as one of the trend-starters to enforce the around-the-wicket angle which has made life tough for left-handed batsmen.
Ishant is amongst the 26 pacers in the 144-year old history of Test cricket to fetch 300 wickets. If all goes well, he will go past Zaheer Khan’s tally of 311 wickets to become the second-highest wicket-taking pacer in India’s Test history.
All these traits make Ishant one of the most loved and respected cricketers in India’s dressing room. It was obvious when everyone was on their feet when Ishant notched up his maiden Test fifty. We know Tim Paine will be atrociously wrong if he ever assumes that Ishant is not liked by his teammates, a timid sledging card he has pulled against Virat Kohli and R Ashwin.
Maiden Test Fifty for Ishant Sharma 👏#WIvIND pic.twitter.com/AhKmVBOUjp
— 🄰🄽🅄🄿🄰🄼 (@_Anupam183) August 31, 2019
Somewhere between, “Oh no, Ishant Sharma again” and “Oh yes, Ishant”, a generation grew up.
