Ishant Sharma told in an interview that he’s looking forward to the upcoming Test series against West Indies which is starting from 21st July and firmly believes that the Test cricket is his best suit. While he is India’s number one pick in the Test matches, Ishant hasn’t been able to nail a permanent place in the shorter formats of the game. “You have to be honest with yourself, that’s the most important thing. If you are being honest with yourself it’s easy to accept things. I know that I didn’t do well in the shorter formats of the game, so I accepted it, But I am doing well in Test cricket so I know what my strength is,” Ishant Sharma said to bcci.tv.
Ishant Sharma further went on to say that, “If you are playing all formats of the game, it’s very difficult to think what’s going wrong for you and what’s going right for you, It’s very difficult as you have (a) very short time to understand all these things. I know I didn’t do well in T20s. I think everybody has their strengths. I always believe in that, and there is no harm to accept that thing.” Ishant Sharma also said about his experience of previous tour in West Indies and said that he wants to share the experience with rest of the bowling attack. “I am sharing my experiences and hoping that what worked for me also works for them, But then they have to also identify their areas of strength because everybody has their own strengths. Bhuvi’s strength is swing, but he can’t extract the bounce like I can do. Similarly, I can’t get the ball to swing like him,” Ishant said.
Ishant Sharma also spoke about the pitches and conditions of the West Indies. “You have to work hard enough even if conditions are not favourable,” he pointed out. “It is easy to give up and say there’s nothing in the wicket so spinners will do the job and we (pacers) will only try to hit the areas. But you should back yourself and go flat out. I like to go flat out whether it is my second or third spell. If I am playing, I give my 100%. That makes me a different bowler.”
“The conditions are very challenging. It’s pretty hot out there, so you need to look after yourself properly. And obviously the time difference, it’s totally a different time zone and you need to be mindful of that as well, especially when you are playing four Test matches,” Ishant Sharma concluded.