South African Legend Is A Fan Of Indian Pacer

Ishant Sharma has endured a good series on a personal note against England, as he was instrumental in India’s victory at Nottingham and has shown signs of leading the bowling attack quite well.

He has adapted well to the changes of conditions in England, and probably the county stint with Sussex in this English summer has helped him adapt according to the situations.

Most notably, South African pacer Dale Steyn has applauded Sharma as the 35-year-old had some commendable words to say for the Indian fast bowler.

Steyn reportedly said, “‘I have been a big fan of Ishant for a very long time. I played with him at the Sunrisers and saw what he was capable of doing back then. I always felt that he was very unlucky because India played, at one point, a lot of Test matches at home in a row and those wickets are not helpful for fast bowlers.

‘As a fast bowler, you are kind of in and out of the side, and your team is regularly relying on spinners. And yet he has maintained focus and fitness to be able to come on a tour like this, when the fast bowlers are really needed, and stood up.

‘I am very happy that he has achieved the things he has done and played county cricket as well to prepare him for this summer.’

Despite making a bright start to his career, Ishant underwent quite a few rough phases where he was criticized or scapegoated for the team’s poor performances. However, ever since focusing on Tests completely, he has undertaken a much-disciplined approach in bowling and the team has garnered benefits from the same.

Sharma has scalped 253 wickets from 86 Test matches and is a senior figure in the squad currently. Though the Tests in England did not pan out as the Indian team would have liked to, the upcoming tour to Australia would be a good test of this team’s ability to bounce back and perform against all the odds. Certainly, Ishant Sharma could play a very integral role during India’s tour of Australia in a couple of months.