Ishant Sharma is not the solution when India is already 1-0 down in the ODI series against West Indies and now they are a man down albeit with a replacement on board as well.
India have already 1-0 down in the ODI series against West Indies and now they are a man down albeit with a replacement on board as well.
Young bowler Mohit Sharma has picked up an injury and been replaced by the tall and lanky Delhi bowler, Ishant Sharma for the remainder of the series, the BCCI announced on Friday.
“Mohit Sharma has aggravated his bilateral shin injury, and has therefore been ruled out of the ongoing Micromax Cup, India vs West Indies ODI series, 2014.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ishant Sharma as his replacement in the Indian squad,” said a BCCI statement on Friday.
Ishant Sharma has played over 72 ODIs with 102 wickets at an economy rate of 5.72. The last ODI Ishant represented was way back in January against New Zealand. Since then, the Delhi bowler has not been the pick of the bowlers in the coloured clothes and has been playing Tests all this while.
But here comes the negative part of picking Ishant for the ODIs. Every cricket fan remembers the assault of Aussie all-rounder James Faulkner handed out to Ishant in the ODI series last year. Moreover, the line and length required in the death overs is still lacking from this experienced pacer. In the last 12 months, Ishant has taken just mere eight wickets in seven ODIs at an average of 48 and economy rate of 6.87. Now that’s a severe reading!
And the doubts are also raised about the availability of Umesh Yadav in the team. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami fizzling out, Umesh who has performed well in the quadrangular series in Australia can bode well with the rest of players. His pace and the fiery yorkers in the final overs can provide the much needed boost for MS Dhoni especially with the World Cup around the corner.
Ishant’s inclusion can add the experience in the bowling ranks but quality wise, it’s still rotting in the bench.
