Ishant needs consistency and luck
Ishant Sharma announced his arrival with a testing spell to Ricky Ponting in Perth in 2008
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Ishant Sharma announced his arrival with a testing spell to Ricky Ponting in Perth in 2008. Four years on, his career has resembled a drunk's hesitant gait: a step forward, a step back, a step to the side, writes S Ram Mahesh in the Hindu. He says that if cricket's gods distributed wickets according to the size of a bowler's heart and the earnestness of his efforts, Ishant would have 250 wickets from his 43 Tests, not 131.
Two things have held Ishant back -- inconsistency and misfortune. His style has contributed slightly to his lack of luck: his natural length, not as full as most seamers, causes more plays-and-misses than edges; the angle of his stock delivery suggests it's going down leg, even if it isn't, and umpires are wary of giving 'lbw' decisions. But Ishant isn't wicket-lucky; he has to do more for returns others get easier.