'Know what my strengths are in Tests' - Ishant

Ishant Sharma, India's most-experienced fast bowler in the squad of 17 for the four-Test series in the West Indies, has accepted that his performances in the shorter formats haven't been good enough, but thinks Test cricket is his strength.

"You have to be honest with yourself, that's the most important thing. If you are being honest with yourself it's easy to accept things. I know that I didn't do well in the shorter formats of the game, so I accepted it. But I am doing well in Test cricket so I know what my strength is," he told BCCI.tv after India's two-day practice fixture against WICB President's XI in Basseterre.

Ishant, who last played a Twenty20 international three years ago, said little down time between formats had made it all the more challenging for him to adapt. "If you are playing all formats of the game, it's very difficult to think what's going wrong for you and what's going right for you," he said. "It's very difficult as you have [a] very short time to understand all these things. I know I didn't do well in T20s. I think everybody has their strengths. I always believe in that, and there is no harm to accept that thing."

Ishant, who was Man of the Series during India's tour of the West Indies in 2011 - 22 wickets in three Tests - also stressed on the need for communication with the other pacers to benefit the team.

"I am sharing my experiences and hoping that what worked for me also works for them," he said. "But then they have to also identify their areas of strength because everybody has their own strengths. Bhuvi's [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] strength is swing but he can't extract the bounce like I can do. Similarly, I can't get the ball to swing like him."

Ishant agreed with the general perception of Caribbean surfaces being slower than usual, but said that was no excuse to stop trying, and the key was to be relentless in attack.

"You have to work hard enough even if conditions are not favourable," he said. "It is easy to give up and say there's nothing in the wicket so spinners will do the job and we [fast bowlers] will only try to hit the areas. But you should back yourself and go flat out. I like to go flat out whether it is my second or third spell. If I am playing I give my 100%. That makes me a different bowler.

"The conditions are very challenging. It's pretty hot out there, so you need to look after yourself properly. And obviously the time difference, it's totally a different time zone and you need to be mindful of that as well, especially when you are playing four Test matches."