ENG vs IND: Mohammed Shami gives an update on Ishant Sharma’s fitness

Indian pacer Ishant Sharma picked up eight wickets in the first two Tests against England and looked in excellent rhythm. However, the veteran fast bowler has looked out of sorts in India’s ongoing Test at the Headingley in Leeds. In England’s first innings, Sharma is the only Indian bowler, who’s yet to get a wicket. In 22 overs, he has gone for 92 runs at an economy rate of 4.20.

He bowled in short bursts and hardly came in for long spells. The same raised doubts on whether the seamer is fit or not. In the meantime, Mohammed Shami, Ishant’s bowling partner, cleared the air and said that Sharma’s fitness should not be questioned. He said that it was Virat Kohli, who was managing Ishant’s spell.

Shami backs Ishant Sharma  

“See when sometimes the ball doesn’t come well off the bowler’s hands or if the team has been on the field for a long time, the captain starts giving short spells of 3-4 overs. You don’t need to bowl 7-8 over spells consistently in Test matches,” Shami was quoted as saying in the post-day press conference.

“It depends on the situation and the bowler’s rhythm as well, that’s very important. You must have seen that Ishant started the innings and ended it as well. So, there are no doubts about his fitness. It’s just that the captain has to see which bowler needs recovery, how many overs to give, how many short or long spells to give. It’s the captain’s call and not the bowler’s,” he stated.

After India were bowled out for 78 in their first innings, the Three Lions ended Day two with the score at 423 for the loss of eight wickets. The Brits have managed a lead of 345 runs on the back of skipper Joe Root’s 121 with 14 fours.

Shami was of the opinion that the pitch has slowed down to a significant extent, making it easy for the batters. Shami said that a bit of pace on the deck would have helped the Indian bowlers make a larger impact on the encounter.

“The pitch has become slower and that’s why they had it so easy while batting. If it wasn’t for that, the result would have been completely different,” Shami added.