As the 2nd ODI approaches, MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher will sit down to select their playing eleven and the list will include, Ishant Sharma.
As the 2nd ODI approaches, MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher will sit down to select their playing eleven and the list will include Ishant Sharma. The lanky Delhi pacer has failed to hit the heights (pun intended) and has always grabbed the spotlights for the wrong reasons.
After their heartbreaking defeat to the Kiwis in the 1st ODI, former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe in an interview to ESPNCricinfo said that Ishant is a “bridge too far” now and has taken enough beatings to be persevered with. Crowe’s words seemed so pungent that Ishant proved it ‘right’ with his bowling figures. He bowled 9 overs giving away 72 runs with a single wicket at an economy of 8 an over. So why did MS Dhoni shut his eyes from that fact? Is he still blaming his batsmen? Team India has a bunch of talented youngsters on board who can bowl far better than Ishant at the moment. The likes of Varun Aaron and Stuart Binny are waiting in the wings to grab the opportunity and not too far away is the old warhorse – Zaheer Khan.
It is highly unlikely Team India management will take the immediate action of dropping Ishant Sharma but for how long will they preserve the lanky bowler? Ishant who bowled well on the tour of South Africa, for once thought, all was good and peaceful until they landed on the land of the Kiwis. It’s hard to forget his dismal performance in ODIs against the Aussies back home where the Delhi bowler became an overnight ‘celeb’. His celebrity status was so popular on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook that even people recognised his ‘popularity’.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has another figure of speech to describe Ishant. He quips, “Ishant Sharma remains to be an enigma to me. He is the senior most Indian bowler with experience but has been inconsistent under pressure as Mohammad Shami has become the backbone of Indian bowling.”
In a world where a symphony which is no longer on decibel ground, Ishant’s bowling provides that tone deafness that fails to hit the high notes of cricketing orchestra.
It’s high time that the cricketing gods turned their heads towards Ishant Sharma and dispatch him to a faraway land known as – Break!
