Ishant, Zaheer will have to deliver

India have the men to do damage in England

The seaming conditions and the proven ability of the hosts’ bowlers to exploit them certainly puts them ahead of a relatively less experienced Indian pacemen but with Ishant Sharma finding his rhythm, Praveen Kumar proving his worth and Zaheer Khan returning to action, England batsmen can hardly rest easy.

Zaheer’s comeback after a well-deserved break is as encouraging a sign as Ishant’s resurgence in the West Indies’ tour, where he was declared the man of the series for his 22-wicket haul. Any reference to Ishant can’t be complete without the mention of the troubles he put Ricky Ponting through at Perth before putting the then Australian captain out of his misery. The promise the Delhi bowler had showed on India’s tour of Australia in 2009, however, fast disappeared in the subsequent years.

The right-arm quick did show his brilliance on occasions but they were few and far between. Whether it was the inability to handle the sudden fame or the lack of proper mentoring to cope with such situations, Ishant appeared to have been lost to Indian cricket. Fortunately, good sense has prevailed. The signs of his return were first seen in IPL 4 and with Zaheer opting out of the West Indies’ tour, it was a godsend opportunity for the youngster to prove his mettle. Prove he did and how!

The striking feature of Ishant’s bowling in the Caribbean was the bounce and pace he was generating on the slightly helpful pitches, a deadly combination that had made him so dangerous early in his career. This was what was missing in his bowling and thus making him less effective. Should the 22-year-old keep the good work going, he can be a difficult customer to handle on the English pitches.

Experienced

Talking of English pitches, no one has better knowledge of them than Zaheer. The left-arm seamer’s exploits for county team Worcestershire facilitated his return to the national side and his 18-wicket haul during India’s last tour here played a crucial role in Rahul Dravid-led side’s 1-0 series win. Come to think of it, no bowler has had more impact on Indian wins than Zaheer in the last couple of years or so. The series against England, in a way, revived his international career and with the 32-year-old most probably playing his last Test series here, the experienced campaigner will be looking for a perfect English swansong.     

While Zaheer will be keen to finish on a high, the likes of Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth will look to cement their places. That Praveen should have got the chance to play Tests earlier than he did was proved emphatically in the West Indies. The UP bowler was impressive in the first two Tests, and his ability to move the ball around put the Windies’ top order in endless trouble. It will be tempting to play him in English conditions but then he will have to be handed the new ball ahead of Ishant, a move the team management will have to ponder over.

A fit Munaf can be more effective because of his ability to make the old ball talk, which he showed in ample measure in the final Test against the Windies but the effort might have been too little and too late for him to make the cut immediately in England. Given his natural talent, S Sreesanth should have been an automatic choice to share the new ball with Zaheer.  But a combination of injuries at inopportune times and his own follies hasn’t helped his cause. Could this well be his time? Time will tell.