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Testing time for Ishant Sharma

Properly handled, and blessed with a little luck, he will emerge as a better bowler and man, writes
Peter Roebuck

— Photo: AFP

Turbulent times: For Ishant Sharma this period of testing could well prove to be his making.

Ishant Sharma’s trials and tribulations highlight the challenges faced by young cricketers everywhere and emerging Indians in particular.

Tall, menacing, fit and fast, he was a handful a year ago and seemed destined to play his part in forming the most potent pace attack India has fielded since Independence. Now Ishant is a shadow of his former self. Previously fluent and uncluttered, h e stutters to the crease, has lost his action and appears confused. He might have been dropped earlier. Certainly the bowling was livelier without him.

Ups and downs

Of course young cricketers are especially exposed to the ups and downs of an instructive game. As a rule cricket careers follow a predictable course.

First natural talent carries a player along as far as it can. If he has an abundance of ability it is not long before he is put on a pedestal.

Eventually the rise falters and the excitement fades as opponents pick the newcomer’s game to pieces. Rawness is exposed. Presently panic sets in.

All sorts of remedies are recommended. Many cricketers flounder in this period of introspection. Only the very best emerge, wise and complete.

By no means is Ishant the only youthful speedster to discover that the game is more complicated than first imagined.

Wayne Parnell and Sreesanth could confirm the point. In sport it is extremely difficult to remain simple. Simplicity requires a profound understanding of technique. Whereas older hands know their games and can quickly identify and correct failings greenhorns are baffled when things go wrong.

Seasoned campaigners know how fast they run to the crease — Allan Donald’s coaches timed his approach with stop-watches and sent out informative messages. They know how to contribute when out of sorts. Youth tries harder and harder when things are not working and usually their game suffers. Such are the joys of youth. However Ishant’s setback also has an Indian dimension. No matter how well raised, no matter how astutely advised, no matter how sturdy the cricket culture or how impressive the leadership, regardless of background, a boy shortly out of school thrust amongst the giants of the nation, put upon a million posters, receiving a thousand proposals, offered lucrative contracts, slapped on the back from dawn till dusk cannot be expected to remain in every respect intact.

Its hard enough to survive acclaim as an adult. Apart from anything else youngsters are poorly placed to reject hospitality. To decline an invitation is to appear headstrong. Inevitably, fitness suffers as the food and distractions pile up. Perhaps, too, an edge is lost as the bank balance fills and the praise singers get to work.

Ishant could be the most impressive youngster to appear since George Washington and he’d still find it hard to retain his intensity.

Especially in India, success can be as big a challenge as failure. Before long, Virat Kohli and Abhishek Nayyar may experience the same dangerous joyride. Thankfully, no way has yet been found to put an old head on young shoulders.

Accordingly, it comes as no surprise to find Ishant huffing and puffing ineffectively. Properly handled, and blessed with a little luck, he will emerge from his first black hole as a better bowler and man. He is fortunate in several respects. He has around him a capable bowling coach, several senior players able to provide guidance and a sympathetic captain.

These men understand the process and the pressure. All of them survived. Few cricketers have been as adept as Mahendra Singh Dhoni at retaining a small parcel of space. And Ishant is a splendid bowler. All the evidence indicates that this period of testing will not be his breaking but his making.

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