Should Ishant Sharma be shown the door?

[Arjun]

If Ishant is your Sami, the others are Fazl-e-Akbar, Mohammed Khalil, Wahab Riaz and Riaz Afridi. If Ishant is your Dilhara Fernando, every other bowler is a Lokuhettige Dilhara or Hashantha Fernando. That's the state India is in now.

The domestic options are not adequate at all. A classic example is Vinay Kumar, the single best seam-up bowler in India, on domestic records. He was handled like a spinner. Every one of the bowlers you'd pick to replace Ishant will struggle on flat decks due to lack of pace. Even Praveen Kumar, tipped to be better than Ishant, has a horrendous record in home ODIs and in the IPL- where he faces international standard batsmen. Less said of Ashok Dinda, the better- four overs against top batsmen makes Ishant a much better bowler.

It's the support staff that's to blame just as much. Ishant will do exactly what the captain wants, and does what he can for the team, unlike geriatrics of the Munaf Patel variety.

 

[andruid]

Maybe like James Anderson, what we are seeing is a talented, but totally rough diamond Ishant Sharma Mark I. A few seasons out of test cricket in a sufficiently high level domestic competition becoming the finished product and he could yet deliver on the promise his natural attributes point at.

 

[Prince EWS]

Heh, the thing is, I just don't see what everyone else sees with Sharma. I always thought Anderson Mk I looked like a potentially awesome bowler for example so I don't agree with the comparison there. Hilfenhaus and Southee have also been mentioned - again I saw the attraction with those bowlers as they actually moved the ball off the straight in addition to bowling at a decent pace. Sami's been brought up by people as an example of why looking like you should develop into a good bowler doesn't mean you will and I still think even Sami looked to have infinitely more to work with than Sharma.

Maybe it's because I watch so much Australian domestic cricket and hence don't think being tall and bowling 140km/hr is a particularly rare combination for even the most mediocre of First Class cricketers, but he just doesn't seem like that special a talent to me. He has to learn to either move the ball, preferably at a fuller length than what he bowls (which is what Broad, another bowler I used to say all these exact same things about, did), or become about five times as accurate and canny. Just pitching it up more isn't going to help though unless he starts moving it because it's not a natural length for him and he'll get hammered, as he's found out after experimenting with this before.

Realistically I think those things are about as likely to happen in the Indian setup at the moment as David Bandy learning to be 18 inches taller.

 

[Howe_zat]

Heh, the thing is, I just don't see what everyone else sees with Sharma. I always thought Anderson Mk I looked like a potentially awesome bowler for example so I don't agree with the comparison there. Hilfenhaus and Southee have also been mentioned - again I saw the attraction with those bowlers as they actually moved the ball off the straight in addition to bowling at a decent pace. Sami's been brought up by people as an example of why looking like you should develop into a good bowler doesn't mean you will and I still think even Sami looked to have infinitely more to work with than Sharma.

Maybe it's because I watch so much Australian domestic cricket and hence don't think being tall and bowling 140km/hr is a particularly rare combination for even the most mediocre of First Class cricketers, but he just doesn't seem like that special a talent to me. He has to learn to either move the ball, preferably at a fuller length than what he bowls (which is what Broad, another bowler I used to say all these exact same things about, did), or become about five times as accurate and canny. Just pitching it up more isn't going to help though unless he starts moving it because it's not a natural length for him and he'll get hammered, as he's found out after experimenting with this before.

Realistically I think those things are about as likely to happen in the Indian setup at the moment as David Bandy learning to be 18 inches taller.

So how tall is David Bandy these days?

 

[honestbharani]

was a genuine prospect thought he will be a world beater one day now the only beating is what he has to endure himself. Hope he can do a Zaheer Khan style comeback as he is a pretty good bowler to watch when in form.

Xuhaib is never wrong...

 

[honestbharani]

Sami was a much more skilled bowler than Sharma in general.

In fact if I had to pick one to play a match tomorrow I'd pick Sami.

Yeah I went there.

Reason #9484938943 why you should not trust the machines.

 

[trundler]

Sami had a lot going for him except a brain and control. The most baffling failure not just because of the tools he seemingly had but also just how bad he turned out to be. Had no stamina at all.

 

[andruid]

Maybe like James Anderson, what we are seeing is a talented, but totally rough diamond Ishant Sharma Mark I. A few seasons out of test cricket in a sufficiently high level domestic competition becoming the finished product and he could yet deliver on the promise his natural attributes point at.

Damn I love being prophetic.

 

[Flem274*]

didn't sami get a recall against australia and do quite well?

 

[Starfighter]

Sami had a lot going for him except a brain and control.

So, he had everything except the two most important traits for an international bowler.