Lack of support behind Sharma's alarming decline

[aussie1st]

ISHANT SHARMA'S growing pains are the likely reason behind the summary dismissal of Indian bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, says Australian coach Tim Nielsen.

This time last year, Sharma won the man of the series award as the spearhead of India's 2-0 Test series win over the Australians, his 15 wickets and domination of Ricky Ponting a key factor in the result. But the 21-year-old has since fallen on hard times, losing the rhythm and bite that so troubled Ponting, and leaving the Indian attack without anything like the same level of threat.

His efforts in the recent Champions Trophy, where India failed to reach the semis, were unrecognisable next to those of last year, and Nielsen believed the sackings of Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh reflected grave fears about the development of Sharma and other young players.

Lack of support behind Sharma's alarming decline - Cricket - Sport - smh.com.au

I don't know much in regards to the Indian setup but what is being said in the article makes sense. I would also add his workload which has seen him drop 10km/h which accounts for his missing spark.

 

[sohum]

It's the same old story with all Indian fast bowlers. The realists amongst us predicted it back in the day, only to be told, "No, it won't happen this time!" But it's inevitable. The list of promising Indian fast bowlers whose careers turn into royal messes grows faster than the list of promising Indian fast bowlers. Some highlights: Debashish Mohanty, Ajit Agarkar, RP Singh, VRV Singh, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, and now Ishant Sharma. To a certain degree, ZaK almost fell into that hole. I still don't think he's as threatening as he's been given credit for.

All that said, I think Ishant still has some promise. However, the selectors need to realize that Ishant is not a one-day bowler. He should be played as Stuart Clark is--only in test matches (has Clark been playing OD's/T20's recently? I haven't been following...)

 

[SaiSrini]

Before we had the problem of getting good fast bowlers. Now we have the problem of fast bowlers not sustaining themselves for long in international cricket. We seriously need a fix for this problem. MRF pace foundation could provide a remedy. Someone like TA Sekar (who works with MRF pace foundation) should be appointed our bowling coach and should also oversee the progress of our fast bowlers who come to the NCA and get trained.

Though, why is Nielsen so concerned about Prasad and Robin Singh's sacking and Ishant's workload? Another mental game?

 

[aussie1st]

Well Sharma still has time on his side, hopefully a bit of a break should get him back to where he was a year ago.

Clark has good ODI and T20 figures but that is inflated through the amount of wickets he gets from batsmen trying to slog him. Hes serviceable in the shorter forms but I don't expect to see him the yellow/green clothing anymore.

 

[Howsie]

It's sad really but some people predicted this to happen to Ishant Sharma. For a 21 year old fast bowler he really hasn't had too much of a break over the space of 20 or so months. I agree with Sohum that India must only pick him for test cricket for the moment until his body is able to get through all forms of the game, he'll also need to improve his skill set in the shorter forms of the game because his 20/20 and one day records aren't that flash.

 

[braguvaran]

i dont see that he has declined or something...

he was just lucky to have done well earlier thats it

 

[MaD]

He's simply not in form, he's only 21 and has years ahead of him.
Zaheer, RP and Irfan are doing the job fine but India's bowling isn't the
only thing to blame

 

[SaiSrini]

Zaheer started off with a bang and also went through a similar period where he struggled a lot and was dropped from the team on and off (more than 3-4 times). But he then came back a stronger cricketer after that county experience and others. Importantly he had a break where he had to re-assess himself. Sharma should have the same thing. Drop him for the shorter format and have him only for the tests. Maybe he should go to county cricket for a stint too. Most of our players change after a stint in county (e.g. Dravid, Ganguly, Zaheer, etc).

Sharma needs to build his fitness. He is too lean for a fast bowler. Maybe Sharma might come back strongly.

 

[iridescentt]

Anyone read the Cricinfo article with alarming stats about Sharma? Thats worth a read for sure.

 

[Howsie]

Sharma needs to build his fitness. He is too lean for a fast bowler. Maybe Sharma might come back strongly.

Can't say I agree with that, I don't see anything wrong with the fact that Sharma's lean or "skinny" as most people say. Yes he could quite possibly get stronger and this might make him a tad quicker, but the last thing you need is someone with his ablity trying to add 5-10kg's for no reason.

 

[Iridium]

Anyone read the Cricinfo article with alarming stats about Sharma? Thats worth a read for sure.

Yep I read that. Seems he's not effective at the start of an innings which is where he should be doing all his damage. But I think he should stick to test cricket, rebuild some confidence and form, work on 50 over and 20/20 domestically and then see where he stands.

 

[manee]

All that said, I think Ishant still has some promise. However, the selectors need to realize that Ishant is not a one-day bowler. He should be played as Stuart Clark is--only in test matches (has Clark been playing OD's/T20's recently? I haven't been following...)

Yes. Bowlers like Nehra, Kumar, Sreesanth, Tyagi and Munaf supported by two spin bowlers can take the majority of the onus for our ODI cricket. These two are currently not in Test contention and have shown themselves as competant ODI bowlers. For Test matches, it is clear that Zaheer and Ishant have shown the greatest success since Srinath and they need to be preserved for such. As you noted, Ishant is a poor ODI bowler too and should not be picked, even if he is considered for the format. Regarding Zaheer, I feel that he can play some crucial ODIs or ODI series but should perhaps be rested for a good deal of series, especially since he does bowl a lot of overs in Test matches and is quite injury prone, directly as a result of such.

manee added 4 Minutes and 42 Seconds later...

Can't say I agree with that, I don't see anything wrong with the fact that Sharma's lean or "skinny" as most people say. Yes he could quite possibly get stronger and this might make him a tad quicker, but the last thing you need is someone with his ablity trying to add 5-10kg's for no reason.

Indeed, added weight without functionality will be extremely damaging but with the specific weight training, it could help him infinitely. The example is Brett Lee who visibly put on 5-10kgs of lean muscle prior to the Ashes tour of England and was immediately bowling up to 95mph (153kph) whereas he had not touched quite those speeds for yesrs.

 

[Pranav]

He's bowling too short ATM. He needs to pitch up the ball a lot more to be effective.

 

[bumba26]

Hmm!! With Ishant out of form....India's bowling is looking ordinary. Nehra seems to be doing a decent job but he is not a strike bowler. He can be a support bowler. Praveen Kumar is a good bowler but on flat pitches he will struggle due to lack of pace. Hope the new guy Tyagi gets a chance in the upcoming series.

But great news is Shewag and Yuvi is back. But why did they drop Pathan.....

 

[shravi]

Hmm!! With Ishant out of form....India's bowling is looking ordinary. Nehra seems to be doing a decent job but he is not a strike bowler. He can be a support bowler. Praveen Kumar is a good bowler but on flat pitches he will struggle due to lack of pace. Hope the new guy Tyagi gets a chance in the upcoming series.

But great news is Shewag and Yuvi is back. But why did they drop Pathan.....

Because he sucks.