ENG Vs IND 2018: Ishant Sharma Needs to Work on His Length - Ashish Nehra

Former India fast bowler, Ashish Nehra feels lanky pacer Ishant Sharma needs to work a bit on his line and length ahead of the gruelling five-match Test series against England commencing on August 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Meanwhile, Ishant returned with three wickets in the three-day practise game against Essex at Chelmsford. He will have to lead the pace attack in the first Test following the absence of pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

However, earlier this year, the Indian bowlers did an exceptional job in South Africa picking up 60 wickets in three Test and will be keen to do the same.

Nehra, ahead of the series, feels Ishant needs to pitch the ball a little in up in this series. Nehra, who is now a bowling coach, feels Ishant is the fittest bowler in this current line up. He also noted that Ishant’s fitness will be key for India.

“The strongest point is his physical fitness. That’s how he has managed to play for so long. He is a hit-the-deck bowler. Although he might come on one-change, he is experienced. He has played seven Tests in England. For him to be fit will be very important for India,” Nehra said to ESPNcricinfo.

Nehra feels Ishant will have to bowl a bit up to the batsmen against someone like star batsman Alastair Cook. Ishant Sharma is generally short of the length bowler but Ashish Nehra feels he can alter his length.

“He is a back-of-a-length bowler. People might feel that he does not bowl the ideal length for Test cricket, but I’m sure he can alter his length a little bit. Especially against someone like Alastair Cook, the length should be up, because he will bowl across him,” Nehra concluded.