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How will Ishant Sharma’s absence impact India in Australia? | How will the absence of Ishant Sharma impact India in the Tests?

The odds of India replicating a series-victory in the forthcoming test series against Australia in their backyard is faltering gradually. Firstly, the Aussies are in a much better shape currently due to the arrival of the likes of Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne in the setup, and Warner is likely to return from injury at some stage.

But more importantly, the Indian side will be deprived of the services of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for parts of the series, and Ishant Sharma for the entire duration of the four-match series. The absence of such mainstays is bound to present a stiff challenge in front of the Indians, who would have banked on the trio to infuse immense quality and experience in the XI.

The situation surrounding Kohli and Rohit has been pondered upon extensively, albeit for a variety of reasons. Accordingly, Ishant’s injury seems to have fallen under the radar. The seasoned pacer had suffered a side strain whilst playing for Delhi Capitals in the early stages of IPL-13. He didn’t further participate in the league and is now definitely out of contention for a spot in the squad for the tour Down Under too. Ishant led the Indian pace attack with aplomb in the team’s successful outings in Australia in 2018/19. His absence means that the most experienced bowler in the current national team setup will miss out on the historic opportunity to replicate the feat of securing a series victory in Australia.

Why will India miss Ishant?

But, that makes one implore upon the other reasons that highlight Ishant Sharma’s indispensability to the current Indian test team.

Ishant is neither as exemplary as Jasprit Bumrah, nor a lethal wicket-taker like Mohammed Shami. The pace that he puts behind his deliveries is comparably lesser than his other two counterparts, too. Furthermore, the Delhi pacer does not play international cricket in other formats of the game, either. That maybe contributes to the fact that his efficiency and importance in the whites for the national side is often brushed aside. However, a closer look at the available data and record will surely suggest that Ishant Sharma carries out a tireless, integral responsibility for the Indian test side.

The 32-year-old has played 13 test matches in SENA+WI in the last three years. He has picked an impressive 52 wickets in these games, which also includes three five-wicket hauls and a remarkably improved bowling average of 20. In the 2018/19 series in Australia, he had notched 11 dismissals in three games at an average of 23.81 that comprised of a four-wicket haul in Perth. India has drawn or won six matches in these five countries in the previous three years. Ishant has bagged 24 wickets in these games at an average of 19.87, evidently playing a critical role in these results.

One of the key elements that Ishant brings to the table is innate consistency and the ability to hold an end up. On the relatively flat tracks in Australia, bowling units have to set themselves up for the long run. They need to maintain immoveable focus, tenacity and uniformity in their approach. This is a factor that particularly applies to the visiting teams, considering that the home team batsmen are well-versed with the conditions on offer and are willing to dig in to put a huge total on the board. Bowlers hence tend to fall flat after a certain period of time, thus giving away many loose deliveries and losing their grip over the proceedings. The Indian team was perhaps guilty of that in the 2014/15 series Down Under.

However, Ishant and company ensured that they concede considerably less hittable deliveries even when the Aussies refrained from relenting. The bowlers stuck to bowl the appropriate lengths at all the times, testing the opposition’s patience and technique and thus securing a wicket or two at timely intervals. Now, such an approach could succeed only when the entire bowling unit implements the plan. Undoubtedly, the success of such strategies flow from the leader of the pack and Ishant was pivotal to the team’s success on this aspect in the series victory. His exceptional economy rate of 2.54 in the series was only marginally bettered by Bumrah’s 2.27 amongst the Indian trio of pacers.

The repercussions of Sharma’s absence are further magnified because of the lack of a ready alternative that can don the responsibility and replicate similar success so soon. Umesh Yadav’s tendency to bowl slightly fuller deliveries produces incredible results on Indian pitches, but not so much overseas. In a spicy Perth pitch in 2018/19, Yadav had conceded runs at 3.76 RPO and managed to scalp only two dismissals in 37 overs. Mohammed Siraj is said to be someone who can carry out that job of holding an end up through consistent line and lengths, but his mettle is yet to be tested in the whites in international cricket.

Furthermore, the pace at which Navdeep Saini extracts bounce from pitches intrigues one of the wonders that he can do in Australia. However, the pacer wasn’t in the best of forms in the IPL either and was still finding his feet in the ODI series. In the first two matches, he had an economy rate of 9 RPO in 17 overs, with only a solitary wicket to show for. Moreover, bowlers generally need some time to adapt to the correct lengths in Australia, something that Ishant would have done commendably but the likes of Siraj and Saini can falter on.

The key to succeed in Australia is to plug all the holes in the bowling lineup. The caliber in the current Tim Paine team is such that they can pounce upon even a single weak point and capitalize on it attain the optimum returns. Nevertheless, tough times test the true character of a team. The Indian side will have to get over the loss of Ishant Sharma in two ways: 1) by either depending on of the debutants between Saini and Siraj to get into the thick of action straightaway or 2) go for a slightly left-field choice by fielding both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI.

CricBlog will ponder upon the second alternative in more detail in a forthcoming article.

Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.