New Delhi, September 22: Former Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath feels that Ishant Sharma will improve with his bowling in limited-overs cricket as and when the time passes, and that his struggle in the format is a part of his learning process.
Ishant’s performance in Test cricket of late has been impressive. However, his struggle with his lengths in ODIs has been a point of concern.
“These tough times are the best for him to learn about himself, about his bowling craft and develop,” Srinath told a sports website.
Ishant’s average in his first 20 ODIs has been 31.48 where he picked 27 wickets, In 13 games in 2009, he claimed 19 wickets at an average of 31.42; the economy rate has, however, increased from 5.34 to 6.19.
Sunday’s warm-up match against New Zealand was no less disastrous where he picked just one wicket after leaking out 49 runs off seven overs.
Some experts feel that Ishant should be given adequate breaks time and again so as to exploit his full potential in Test cricket and not load him with the pressures of both the formats. Srinath, however, disagreed with the opinion, claiming that given the kind of attitude Ishant possesses, he would eventually turn out to be a better ODI player.
“This is part and parcel of the development of a bowler. The second season is always going to be tougher for a cricketer. He has the basics right and he will go on to become a very good bowler for India. These tough times are the best for him to learn about himself, about his bowling craft and develop. From what I hear, he has a great attitude to learn and if he remains hungry, he will come out a better ODI bowler and as a result, a better bowler overall.”
Srinath, nonetheless, was wary of extreme criticism being bombarded on such a young player. “It all depends on his attitude I guess but too much criticism can hurt. This is a very crucial stage. At this developmental stage, you can only develop the more you bowl and more you learn about yourself.”
Concerns had been raised on Ishant being too fragile and his playing too many ODIs may risk a danger of injury. But Srinath felt that such kind of a risk should be taken by players at this stage. “That’s the risk that you have to weigh against the results and only he can know about his body.”
—Agencies