How Prabhakar swung it for Ishant

‘I told him that without swing he was useless’

Long before Ishant Sharma’s famous spell to Ricky Ponting, one of India’s best swing bowler Manoj Prabhakar explained the youngster some hard facts about pace bowling. When Prabhakar saw the lanky pacer bowl at last year’s Challenger Trophy, he was a bit disappointed.

“Ishant and Praveen Kumar were bowling. Praveen was swinging the ball and Ishant was struggling. He needed to be told the truth. So I told him that if he failed to swing the ball then he was a useless bowler and wouldn’t be effective at all,” recalls Prabhakar.

As luck would have it, Prabhakar soon became Delhi’s bowling consultant. What followed were long sessions between the old master and the young ward. At times it was funny to see the Delhi Ranji nets where the pacers watched in awe as Prabhakar, from a short run-up, made the ball talk. It is during these sessions that Ishant learnt the fine art of moving the ball in the air and off the seam. Prabhakar’s mantra of pitching the ball in the right areas and perfecting the precise movement of the ball has come in handy for the young pacer in Australia.

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Prabhakar explains: “He used to hold the ball tightly and after seeing him bowl in the nets I improved his action and grip. After that he started swinging the ball. Everyone was shocked to see that he was swinging the ball a long way. I told him that now it was up to him how he controls the swing.”

Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya agrees that Prabhakar’s tips were very useful for the Delhi pacer. “When he went to Australia he went as the third pacer but with his consistent performance he has become the strike bowler for India. Swing bowling was not his forte but after Prabhakar gave him tips he has improved a lot. Now he swings the ball but he has to maintain the line length. With this trip to Australia he has learnt what area he needs to pitch the ball,” Dahiya says.

Prabhakar has been focusing on improving the fitness of Ishant. “I have been training with him and he is a hard working guy and a good learner. I have told him that he should strengthen his weak muscles and shouldn’t spend time in the gym but should train hard on the ground,” he says.