Ishant raring to get back into his stride

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma is hungry to make a mark after battling indifferent form and an injury lay-off. He insists he hasn’t done away with his speed and even worked on his outswingers to add variety to his bowling.

Ishant has been trying to get into the rhythm playing on the domestic circuit. The Delhiite got three wickets for Rest of India in the Irani Trophy and notched up 4-29 in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal against West Zone. Ishant was picked for India’s home series against New Zealand but didn’t get a game. He, however, used the time learning the outswing with India bowling coach Joe Dawes.

"I am known as an inswinging bowler but I have been working on my outswingers now. It has come out nice. It will be a surprise for the batsmen besides adding a new dimension to my bowling,” said Ishant, who went through the paces during the Delhi Ranji team’s practice at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on Friday.

The Delhi bowler is happy with his stint on the domestic circuit so far.
"The rhythm has been good. I was happy to bowl 26 overs against the Central Zone. It was a good practice for me. I prefer to go all out for wickets and would have liked to get a few wickets against Central,” he said.

"I have not tried to cut down on my speed. It is something that comes with a lot of practice. Whether I play for my club team, Delhi or India I am always ready to go all out.”
Seasoned left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra is also a part of Delhi Ranji squad and Ishant admitted picking the nuances of fast bowling from him.

"He (Nehra) is a senior bowler and has 12 years of international experience. He has been telling me about how to adjust length on different wickets. It’s more of a tactical discussion with him than technical,” he said.