Ishant Sharma is More of a Workhorse than Strike Bowler: Glenn McGrath

Former Australian legendary pacer Glenn McGrath feels that Indian speedster Ishant Sharma needs to figure out that in which role he might be useful for Team India.

McGrath stated that the lanky pacer had been more of a workhorse than a strike bowler. Ishant had an excellent Test against England at Lord’s where he bagged seven wickets through the course of the match. It included a five-wicket haul in the second innings which had helped India get to a dominating position.

“When Ishant started off, he took the world by storm bowling good pace. He is probably not bowling at the same pace. But he is much more experienced now with good control. The Edgbaston Test showed that Ishant has started adopting a bit more,” PTI quoted McGrath as saying.

He was present at the fast bowlers camp organised by the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) and the MRF Pace Foundation.

Despite saying that Ishant has been a workhorse, McGrath agreed to the fact that the Indian pitches might have contributed to the relatively below-par performances in his Test career. He has bagged only 244 wickets in 83 Tests.

Glenn McGrath feels the Indian pitches have made the record of Ishant Sharma look pale:

“I guess a lot of pitches in India are tough to play on. Probably, he didn’t bowl that many spells.  Maybe, he has been used more as a workhorse rather than an attacking bowler. I think he needs to find in what role he fits in,” said McGrath.

Veteran McGrath bagged 563 wickets in 124 Tests for Australia. The former Aussie speedster also feels that given Ishant’s height he need to hit the seam on a consistent basis.

“You have got to hit the seam and maybe a bit of movement off the pitch will help. My weapon was bounce and occasionally a bit of seam movement. In my case, there was Warnie, Lee and Gillespie bowling from the other end to build pressure,” he added.

 

“I liked bowling long spells, and that helped. If you are only bowling short of length always, you are looking at stopping runs, but you need to take wickets,” McGrath remarked.

Glenn McGrath feels that a month and a half month at Sussex under former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie has helped him evolve as a bowler.

“If you are bowling the same lengths in India, Australia and England, you can’t be successful. In England, where the ball swings, you have got to be a bit fuller, so his stint at Sussex did him a world of good,” McGrath stated.

 

“My good mate Jason Gillespie has done incredible work as a coach. I played county in 2000 and 2004 and learnt a lot to bowl in English conditions,” he concluded.