Champions Trophy 2017: Ishant Sharma believes Indian pacers will be efficient in England

Ishant Sharma was the hero in India’s win against England in the Champions Trophy 2013 final

What’s the story?

Ishant Sharma, the man who turned it around for India in the 2013 Champions Trophy, believes that India’s pace attack is going to be highly effective on the England pitches this year during the next chapter of the very same tournament. 

“The important thing is  they (Indian seamers) have the confidence and the self-belief to perform in every situation. All of them have played in high-pressure games and have the experience of every circumstance. I am sure they will do well,” the 28-year-old said. 

Sharma, who played his last ODI more than a year ago, backed the current Indian pacers’ ability to take 10 wickets in an innings. He further said: 

“They have the capability to exploit the conditions and in conditions suitable for fast bowling they have the capability to knock off any team.Umesh Yadav has been bowling well, so too Jasprit Bumrah who is a good ODI death bowler. He can bowl good yorkers.”

In case you didn’t know..

Ishant Sharma took two crucial wickets in India’s final victory over England in the previous Champions Trophy but was not picked to be a part of the squad this time around.

However, he did praise the selected seamers immediately after the Indian Premier League and said that they are looking high on confidence and that they have a considerable experience to make an impact in the tournament.

The details: 

Sharma, while speaking on his long absence from limited overs cricket, admitted that he does not like to be tagged as a Test Specialist. He further goes on to explain that his ODI record is not as bad as you might think. 

He also said that in India, failure in one series or a few games means being tagged as being suitable for one format only and hopes the scenario would change soon. 

What next?

India will be taking on arch-rivals Pakistan in match 4 of the tournament to kick off their Champions Trophy campaign. 

Captain Virat Kohli has to choose between Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami. However, depending on the conditions, he might go with four seamers and compromise either Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin for a particular game.

Author’s take:

India’s bowling attack definitely looks stronger than it did last time around. With Bumrah’s death bowling improving every game, Yadav gaining increasing control on his pace, Kumar being the purple cap holder of the IPL and Shami rearing to go, skipper Kohli will have reliable options to turn to in course of the next two weeks.

This is probably the first time that India’s bowling is being talked about more than its batting before an ICC tournament, and it definitely is something to be proud of for coach Anil Kumble.