WTC Final: Lakshmipathy Balaji picks India’s "leader of the pack” for the summit clash vs NZ

Former fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji earmarked Ishant Sharma to be India’s lead bowler in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand starting June 18 as per WTC final schedule. He picked Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah as the other two seamers to play supporting roles.

India squad for WTC final are touted to go into the final with a three-pronged pace attack and two spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Balaji explained that Ishant would not only be a lethal weapon against the Kiwi southpaws but could also steady the ship as and when needed.

“He [Ishant] is the leader of the pack. I will put Bumrah and Shami with Ishant, three totally different bowlers where Ishant can play defence and the other two can be on the offence. Ishant with the new ball can be on the offence against the left-handers. I will back upon Ishant when the situation goes out of control. He can put things back in place,” Balaji told News18.

While Mohammed Shami last played a Test in the first match against Australia last December, Ishant Sharma was India’s most prolific seamer in the home series against England in February-March this year. The 32-year-old picked 6 wickets at an average of 26.67 in the four-Test assignment.

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Ishant Sharma has toured with the Indian team three times to the UK, reasons Balaji

Ishant Sharma in action for Sussex during the 2018 Royal London One Day Cup

Adversities don't just throw up challenges, they sometimes unearth gems too. India missed their big guns in the famous Gabba Test earlier this year, but the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar more than compensated for the void. They now give the team management a problem of plenty.

Labelling the current selection headache “good”, Balaji threw his weight behind Ishant Sharma essentially because he knows how pitches in England behave. The Delhi Capitals pacer travelled with the Indian team on three separate tours to the UK and also plied his trade to Sussex for the 2018 season.

Check latest WTC final score.

“There is always going to be a selection dilemma, a good dilemma, where the other exceptional talent will put you under pressure. I would look at how the English pitches behave. Ishant has done well there, bowled match-winning spells there, toured with the Test teams three times there. I will use his English country experience of the recent past,” Balaji, who picked 71 wickets across 8 Tests, 30 ODIs and 5 T20Is, added.

In the 2018 county season, Ishant Sharma picked 15 wickets in 4 first-class matches for Sussex before scalping 8 wickets from 6 Royal London One Day Cup games.

Ishant reaped the rewards almost instantly and emerged as India’s leading wicket-taker – 18 wickets in the five-Test series – when they toured the UK later that year and thus Ishant Sharma will be an integral part of India Team against NZ Squad for WTC final.

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