Bowling on a fuller length mantra to Ishant Sharma's success, reveals Jason Gillespie
Former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie, who was also Ishant Sharma's coach during the pacer's stint with Sussex in 2018, has revealed that the Indian quick has been reaping the rewards for bowling a fuller length. Gillespie also expressed his admiration for the duo of Bumrah and Mohammad Shami.
After a breathtaking introduction to Test cricket, including a fearsome spell to the then Australian skipper Ricky Ponting which made the world take notice of him, Ishant Sharma's stocks fell heavily with every passing game, with the pacer completely losing his identity towards the mid-point of the last decade. It wasn't until the year 2018 that Ishant re-discovered his mojo, and it was no coincidence that the pacer had a stint with English county Sussex in that very same year.
One of the main reasons behind the resurgence of Ishant Sharma as a bowler was Sussex's Head Coach and former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie, who worked relentlessly with the Indian quick to help him re-discover the bite that once made him a potent weapon with the ball.
The Sussex coach has now revealed that bowling consistently on a fuller length is what that has brought about the resurgence in Ishant, who has averaged 19.43 with the ball since the start of 2018. Gillespie also further added that more than just bowling full, it was 'looking to put a dent in the pitch' that has made all the difference in the world in Ishant's transformation.
"If you look at how Ishant is taking his wickets, he is bowling a fuller length on average. Rather than bowling back of a length, he is bowling about knee roll/top of pad length," Gillespie told Times of India.
"Often, when bowlers practise bowling fuller, they can look to put the ball there rather than hit the pitch hard like bowlers do when they bowl back of a length. As a coach sometimes, it is the language you use with players that can help. We spoke about “looking to put a dent in the pitch on that fuller length” as opposed to saying “hit the pitch hard,” he added.
The 44-year-old Aussie also revealed that the duo discussed a wide range of things from wrist position to lines and lengths to angles, and hailed Ishant as a keen learner, while revealing that he himself learnt a lot from the Indian pacer.
"We spoke about a number of things regarding bowling in general when he was at Sussex. I believe we learnt a lot from each other. Ishant was keen to explore ways where he could create more wicket-taking opportunities.
"Things we spoke about included wrist position for swinging and seaming the ball and the best lengths to bowl. We also spoke about bowling over and around the wicket to the left-handlers depending on how much the ball is swinging," said the Sussex coach.
Further, Gillespie expressed his admiration for the fast-bowling duo of Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, hailing them as 'one of the most exciting bowling combinations in the world', but stated that the Aussie pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood as the best fast-bowling trio in the world.
"India have a fantastic attack. I think there are some wonderful pace attacks in the world at the moment. I particularly enjoy watching Australia and India’s pace attacks. It’s tough to go past (Mitchell) Starc, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Pat) Cummins in my opinion. However, what I can say is that Bumrah and Shami is one of the most exciting bowling combinations in the world."
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