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Journalism of Courage
Hs’s proved to be a good student of the game all right, but Ishant Sharma has always struggled to get the numbers correct throughout his high school days. Nevertheless, he has graduated to the Test arena admirably in the last two months, but the 19-year-old beanpole has got entangled into the numbers game once again. Ishant is trying to count through his fingers when he attempts a multiplication or conversion of different units—however amateurish and time-consuming it may seem to a mathematician. The youngster is now developing a like for kmphs and mphs figures, thanks to the lure of becoming India’s fastest bowler.
Ishant almost bowled the fastest ball ever by an Indian during the Melbourne one-dayer against Australia at 149.5 kmphs. He has been logging 145-plus kmphs and has been very close to hitting the coveted 150-kmph mark. “How much is that when you convert it into miles? I have seen my speeds but haven’t been able to still work it out,” he admits honestly. “Anything in the 90-mile bracket sounds nice. Am I nearing Ashish bhaiyya, or have I crossed him?” he asks inquisitively.
Ashish Nehra holds the record for the fastest bowling by an Indian—he measured149.7 kmphduring the 2003 World Cup against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Ishant has 0.2 kmph less than him now, bowling at 92.9 mph. His recent spells Down Under make him the obvious candidate to overtake his Delhi senior within the confines of this tri-series itself. But he’s overtaken everybody else in this team, and at 19 he’s the quickest in india at the moment.
“Honestly, it will be a great feeling when I become the fastest bowler in India. And having said that, I must admit it’s very flattering when at 19 I am being compared with the likes of Brett Lee, Shane Bond and Shoaib Akhtar to be the quickest ever,” he says.
“I have always wanted to be a fast bowler, never a medium-pacer or like that but all this while that intent was without looking at the speedometer,” he laughs. “I wasn’t bowling thinking that I have to log 150 kmph or more. Sometimes, I surprise myself with being able to generate such speed without making a conscious effort. I think it all boils down to rhythm,” he says. “Probably if I make an attempt, I might not get there,” he adds.
Nehra, who is presently in South Africa for the final stages of his rehabilitation before making a comeback in two weeks time, also admits that his record is now in real danger. “I couldn’t see the entire match but I saw that fastest ball from Ishant. I have absolutely no qualms that the record that I held for five years, and still clinging on to somehow, could go to Ishant. To see a young fast bowler is always a thrill and the fact that he’s bowling consistently in the 145-plus range makes it really incredible. Even personally, I would like my record to be taken by Ishant. That he’s a Delhi bowler and I have seen him develop in the wings is a perfect icing on the cake,” he says.
Actually, it’s more intriguing that such seemingly-fragile figures have in fact recorded the best speeds in Indian cricket. Consider this sequence: Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma…there’s a Sreesanth trying to squeeze in between the top rankers but he doesn’t quite figure in the copybook fast bowler frame. Ishant, in fact, has made a quantum jump from bowling in the 84-85 mph bracket to raise the bar by a substantial 7-8 miles in the last six months.
“I think that’s because I was able to put in lot of training. Before that I was playing a lot of cricket but being with the Indian team helped me develop my body to good standards. My body gets a proper recovery and I am being constantly monitored by the support staff. So all that helps and Venky sir ensures that no fault creeps in. Also I am a rhythm bowler, I have got into my stride well here. You are carrying a lot of confidence while running in and you have the backing of your skipper to bowl flat out. The wickets here are conducive for quick bowling, so there’s a little extra effort coming through. It may seem innocuous but these things generally make a lot of difference,” he says.
Now that MS Dhoni has decided to keep it short, Ishant’s hairstyle has become a debate here. People have liked and disliked his dense mop of hair but there’s no denying that Ishant has caught the imagination of all the Australians. He’s the baby and darling of his team too. Amongst Ishant’s closest in this group is one man who was initially tipped to be India’s fastest.
Unwinding in the hotel room in Canberra before their departure to Adelaide, Munaf Patel is all ears to the speed-gun conversations and as Ishant blushes on talks of hitting the 100-mile barrier. “Tell that, yes, I will break that also,” Munaf urges. Ishant knows he’s been chided on this now: “I can’t say about 100mph now, whether I can challenge it or not. I love putting my complete effort whenever I bowl and it’s a nice feeling to get a challenge and overcome that,” he concludes.
