Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad hopes to see Ishant Sharma leading the pace battery in the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting from August 1 in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, India will be without their two premier seamer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Jasprit Bumrah. While Bumrah will be available for selection in the second Test, Kumar is out for the first three.
In the absence of Bhuvneshwar, Ishant Sharma has to lead the bowling being the senior campaigner. Ishant had played a lot of County games this year and is aware of the conditions.
Talking about Ishant, Venkatesh Prasad feels the tall and lanky fast bowler lacks adaptability. Prasad feels Ishant has struggled to adjust his line and length according to the situations.
“He has got everything that a fast bowler needs. He has got the height, pace, and bounce. But, he is someone who has not adapted well to different conditions, venues and so on. He has probably stuck to the same back of length, not using the conditions well. You need to change according to the condition,” Venkatesh Prasad said.
Prasad was India’s bowling coach when Ishant Sharma bursts on the international scene.
Prasad admitted Ishant worked hard but hasn’t managed to adapt well. Venkatesh Prasad cited this as the main reason behind Ishant’s not being a first-choice bowler.
“When I was the bowling coach of Indian team, that’s when Ishant Sharma really came on to the scene, 2007-08. And, he worked extremely hard on his bowling. He worked on his seam position, the wrist position especially. But all I can say about Ishant is that he could not adapt. And that’s probably a reason why the captain could not think of playing him in the 11 consistently,” Prasad concluded.