England vs India 2021: You Can't Judge Someone Like Ishant Sharma On One Game Performance - Ashish Nehra

Former Indian bowler Ashish Nehra defended senior Indian pacer Ishant Sharma after the latter’s unimpressive performance in the third Test against England at Headingley. Nehra was surprised about the unwarranted criticism Ishant received after India’s loss.

Having been bowled out for 78 in the first innings, India needed a bowling miracle to get back into the game. However, the first over from Ishant was extremely poor and was indicative of the things to come. He was visibly off-rhythm the entire game, bowling plenty of no-balls and conceding runs at over 4 per over.

“It will be too harsh on Ishant if we judge and discuss his place in the side after just one Test match. Somebody asked me yesterday – ‘was Headingley Test Ishant Sharma’s last?’ I was very surprised that somebody even asked me that question.”

“You can’t judge someone like an Ishant Sharma on one game performance. Yes, we have good four-five bowlers and there is a competition there but you don’t want to see a different bowler in every Test match,” Nehra pointed out.

“Ishant’s rhythm was not the reason we lost at Headingley” – Ashish Nehra

England put up 432 in response to India’s 78, which turned out to be more than enough against a weak Indian middle-order. The bowling looked lackluster, but the credit goes to Joe Root and co. for scoring at a quick pace and maintaining the pressure on their opponents.

Ashish Nehra was quite sure that the reason for the loss couldn’t have been just the 32-year-old Ishant. The other bowlers also looked out of sorts, not what the team required in a dire situation like the one at Headingley.

“Ishant is someone who bowls a no-ball here and there so do Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. Yes, according to me, Ishant Sharma wasn’t looking in the best of the rhythms. We lost that test match so we are discussing that more. Ishant’s rhythm was not the reason we lost it.”

“But don’t forget he missed the first game because of a niggle. In the second, it took him a while but because of experience of playing more than 100 Tests, he got back to his groove quickly and had a good Lord’s Test,” Nehra added.

The fourth Test will be played at The Oval, and India might consider making a change by bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin in place of Ishant Sharma or Mohammad Siraj.

Also Read– England vs India 2021: More Than Anything I Feel We Need To Win This Series First- Joe Root