India vs Australia 2013: Ishant Sharma- the 'tall' tale of wasted talent

Even Zaheer Khan’s advice hasn’t helped

For Ishant Sharma, the “unlucky” phase is over. Forget beating the batsman for pace, Ishant Sharma doesn’t even look like a fast bowler now. He is completely lost on a cricket field. He might have a few solutions to fix his unruly mop of hair but with the ball in hand, he lacks pace, swing or imagination. At times, it even seems that he has no basic understanding of tactics, field placements, control or line and length.

Nowadays he bowls only two lengths – either too full or too short. Oh! Sorry, he does possess a third variety – when attacked mercilessly, he goes too wide as well.

The best example of his listless bowling was in the 48^th of the 3^rd ODI where he really mixed it up (messed it up would be a better phrase!). He lumbered in and delivered at a gentle pace only to see the ball fly past all over the park. The first ball was full and wide and Faulkner spanked it for a four. Then he went short and it flew over the cow corner for a six. The next ball was full again resulting in a six over the bowler’s head.

The next three however, were completely unpredictable(!). Three short balls in a row sat up and said “hit me”. Faulkner was too good to miss out on such gifts and sealed the game with a couple of more sixes.

India has problems with their bowling but it has never been their strongest suit. The batsmen were always needed to score 20 extra runs to give the cushion to the bowlers. It was a concern but when you bleed 300 everyday, it becomes a serious problem.

India, right now, lacks bowlers who can produce wicket taking deliveries, especially in the fast bowling department. Bhuvneshwar Kumar does his bit but the rest of the cast doesn’t match up in quality and Ishant Sharma has been the biggest disappointment.

He was supposed to lead the attack in the absence of Zaheer Khan but Ishant Sharma’s chronicles of being a burden on the team is finally out in the open. Some experts have pointed out his faulty wrist action while the others have attributed his fall to his operated ankle but his biggest problem lies in his mindset.

He has shared the dressing room with Zaheer Khan, been mentored by Wasim Akram during his Kolkata Knight Rider days. He shares the new ball with Dale Steyn for the Sunrisers Hyderabad which is coached by none other than Waqar Younis. If you can’t improve even after being in that elite company, then Ishant has no one but blame himself. His performances have been a major worry for India for some time but now even MS Dhoni seems to be losing his patience.

“I think the last few overs were disappointing, it is an area of concern and it is getting worse. You don’t need to spoon feed bowlers at the international level.”

Although the Indian captain showed immense restrain after the gut-wrenching loss, his strong words indicated that the time is ticking for Ishant Sharma.

And it should be because for someone who is a veteran of 51 Tests and 66 ODIs, such dreadful performances are simply unacceptable. Even on the batting-friendly wickets, much more is expected from the Delhi pacer.

Yes, the new ODI rules are against the bowlers and on such placid conditions, the “two new ball” rule doesn’t give the bowler much advantage either. Even then, the way Ishant Sharma has bowled in recent times, his career should be in jeopardy and he looks nothing but a shadow of the man who once clocked 152 kmph to give the Aussies a scare in their own backyard.