India pacer Ishant Sharma on Monday said that the batters in his side are capable of handling whatever is thrown at them during the pink-ball Test against England.
The four-match series between India and England currently stands level at 1-1 and now both teams will lock horns in a pink-ball Test, beginning Wednesday at the Motera Stadium. This Test will also be Ishant’s 100th in the longest format of the game. When Ishant was asked whether the short-ball tactic can be a good one during the twilight period at the newly-built Motera, Ishant said that one cannot answer for sure as both India and England would be on the same page when it comes to adjusting to a new stadium.
“Till now, I cannot really say what will trouble the batsmen at Motera Stadium. This is the second Test we are playing with the pink-ball in India. Motera is a new ground, even for us, some things are new to us. I am sure our batsmen are really capable of tackling all the things in the pink-ball Test at Motera,” said Ishant while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.
Further talking about the Motera Stadium, Ishant said: “The stadium looks fantastic, we are looking forward to playing in this new stadium. We do not know what kind of playing conditions we will have to face in this new stadium as it is a pink-ball Test. The lights are different, once we are in, then only we can know what kind of track and line and length we need to employ.”
Earlier in the series, Ishant Sharma had become the third Indian pacer to take 300 wickets in Test cricket. Overall, he became the sixth Indian to do so.
“I did not know this stat that I have taken most of my wickets against England. I just focus on the plans we have for every opposition, I like sticking to them,” said Ishant.
India had achieved an emphatic 317-run win against England in the second Test of the ongoing four-match series. As a result, the series stands level at 1-1 and the Virat Kohli-led side has also reached the second spot in World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
India remains in contention to make the final of the ICC World Test Championship. The victory in Chennai on Tuesday has lifted India to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the points table but they cannot afford to lose another match as they need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the championship.
England, who led the table after winning the opening Test, has slipped to the fourth spot with 67.0 percentage points. They can still qualify, but for that, they must win both remaining matches of the series against India.
Sharma said that once he hangs his boots in the longest format, it would be important for Jasprit Bumrah to take it upon himself to groom the youngsters in the side.
“I would not like to name one. If someone plays for India, it means he is talented and he has performed in domestic cricket and IPL. After me, if I think there can be one to play a lot of Tests for India, then it has to be Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah has to lead the way for the youngsters, it would be important how he grooms the new talent. Mohammed Siraj has good control and Navdeep Saini has pace. Everyone is different, you cannot pinpoint one regarding who will play more Test matches,” said Ishant during a virtual press conference on Monday. “If you tell Saini to bowl at just one area, then you are not doing justice to his talent. Similarly, if you tell Siraj to bowl at 140, then you are not backing his strength,” he added.