The Reluctant Bodyliner

Ishant Sharma is the fast bowler Indians love to hate. Which is surprising, because genuinely fast bowlers are as rare as hen’s teeth in India.

Despite the tall, lean build of a classic fast bowler, despite his ability to trouble the best of batsmen (look no further than a cursing Ricky Ponting suffering body blows from a 19-year old Ishant), he has not endeared himself to the Indian fan.

Whether it’s his inability to rise to the occasion when conditions favor it, or his tendency to bowl without imagination or inspiration, Ishant’s claims that only his teammates appreciate his work ethic ring true.

With his destructive spell on the final day of the Test at Lord’s, Ishant won approval from the legions of those pulling for an Indian win, but thanks to captain MS Dhoni’s frank public disclosure, he also earned some ridicule for having to be pushed into the hostile, short-pitched, accurate bowling spell that toppled the English on a pitch holding no demons.

The reluctant bodyliner said that it was a new experience for him to be able to win a match with a sustained short-pitched barrage. Which makes one wonder, for surely at some level while growing up he must have struck terror into the hearts of batsmen with his undeniably fiery pace.

At 25, Ishant Sharma has yet to peak. Time is on his side.

His memorable spell of hostile bowling put England in a world of hurt at Lord's and snatched the game away from them. Here’s hoping that Ishant will be able to reach back into this experience to cement his reputation as a world-class fast bowler.