Ishant Sharma doesn’t want to be branded as a Test specialist

The Kings XI Punjab were battered and bruised throughout the second half of the tournament after beginning it well. They left no stones unturned on their way, along with some luck to hand them a chance to qualify for the playoffs. In the last couple of matches, they beat hefty opponents in Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders to set things up for the final league clash against Rising Pune Supergiant.

All they need is to win the match and they will make it to the playoffs. Ishant Sharma though went unsold in the auction was picked by the Kings as a replacement for injured Murali Vijay. The fast bowler has found it difficult to maintain his consistency and thus has been expensive in the few league games he has played.

Ahead of the all important clash against the Supergiant Ishant said that he does not want anyone to call him as a Test specialist. Unlike Pujara, the pace bowler is not happy with the tag of being a specialist in Test cricket.

“Yes, I know that I haven’t done well in T20’s but that doesn’t mean I want to play only Test cricket. In my earlier interviews, I had meant to say it is one of my strengths but it was interpreted in another way. I don’t want to be branded as a Test specialist. If you see my ODI record it’s not a bad record. So it’s nothing like I only wish to play T20’s or ODI or Test,” said the lanky right-arm quick.

He further went on to express his displeasure, saying, “But this is the bad thing of in our country – If you have one bad series or if you have not performed well in 2-4 games, then you are branded as a bowler suitable only for one format. But I think it all depends on how you feel about yourself rather than what others think about you.

“I always keep believing in myself and that is important for me. It doesn’t bother me with what assumptions are being made. If you do well then people will praise you and if you don’t you have to face criticism. That is the part and parcel of a being professional sportsman,” Ishant added.

As far as the bowling effort and plans are concerned, Ishant suggested that he likes to keep things simple and stick to the basics. Backing his strength has helped him perform well in this form of cricket.

“The most important thing is to keep focus and execute the plans that you have made against the batsman,” he added. As far as variations are concerned Ishant revealed that sometimes along with Mohit Sharma he keeps talking about it. “But in this format, you don’t have much time to develop those skills as everything happens so fast. So it is difficult to develop skills quickly. However, we have been trying to add new things in every game,” said the 28-year-old from Delhi.

Commenting on his role as an experienced pace in the squad he said,” I don’t see too much into it. But there is a responsibility with the experience that I have. On the field, we (bowlers) keep reminding each other of the plans that we have made against the batsman and try to execute them.”

He further ended the conversation saying that the biggest reason for the success of the team is that they have played together as a unit, for the sake of the team. Not depending on a particular player has helped the side get over the line on several occasions. It would, however, be interesting to see how the team copes up against the spirited Rising Pune Supergiant.