The former Australia seamer, Glenn McGrath thinks the speedster Ishant Sharma needs to figure out his role. He feels Sharma has been mere a skivvy than a strike bowler in the current Indian team.
The Aussie speedster feels happy Ishant Sharma is slowly adopting the conditions of England. The lanky pacer took a five-for in the second innings of the Edgbaston Test and finished with seven wickets.
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Glenn McGrath was speaking on the sidelines of an event organized by Haryana Cricket Association and MRF Pace Foundation, and said,
He said, “When Ishant started off, he took the world by storm bowling good pace. He is probably not bowling at the same pace. But he is much more experienced now with good control. The Edgbaston Test showed that Ishant has started adopting a bit more.”
McGrath believes playing on sub-continent tracks adds unimpressive stats to the overall performance of Ishant Sharma. Due to tailor suiting for the spin attack, a pace bowler does not get too many spells on sub-continent tracks.
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However, the conditions become vice-versa away from home. Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma has 244 wickets in 83 Test matches.
“I guess a lot of pitches in India are tough to play on. Probably, he didn’t bowl that many spells. Maybe, he has been used more as a workhorse rather than an attacking bowler. I think he needs to find in what role he fits in.” said the Aussie pace legend.
Ishant Sharma with the Sussex
Ishant Sharma recently featured for Sussex in County Cricket. He spent a month and a half to do the services for Sussex. However, McGrath feels the presence of Jason Gillespie there helped Ishant Sharma a lot to evolve as the best bowler.
“If you are bowling the same lengths in India, Australia, and England, you can’t be successful. In England, where the ball swings, you have got to be a bit fuller, so his stint at Sussex did him a world of good.”
“My good mate Jason Gillespie has done incredible work as a coach. I played county in 2000 and 2004 and learned a lot to bowl in English conditions.”
