Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Pacer Ishant Sharma on Saturday exuded confidence of representing India in the ICC World to be held in England in June-July.
Ishant was also optimist about his good showing in the IPL in which he will play for the Delhi Capitals. He has taken 58 wickets in 78 IPL games so far.
Talking to the media here this afternoon ahead of Delhi Capital’s first match against Mumbai Indians on March 24, he said he was looking to get a place in the Indian World cup side as the fourth pacer.
“There is always a hope. To be honest, I am a positive guy. This IPL, I am hopeful, will be good for me. The Indian team is looking for a fourth fast bowler and, hopefully, I will be that fourth.” He said.
Ishant was candid enough to admit that there was a perception that he was good only for Test matches “ Perception is something players have been dealing with. To be honest, I don’t know where this comes from. Whoever can do well in red ball cricket, can do well in any format. That’s the basic of cricket.
“All you need to do is back your bowling with varieties. I had good Tests series wherever I played. If I do well in this format, hopefully, I will get a chance to go to the World Cup.”
“I will stake my claim by taking wickets in IPL. “Earlier I used to focus on bowling well. Now it is time to take wickets. Even in England I said the same thing. I got tired of just bowling well. I want to take wickets now. Wickets are the only thing that can change perceptions.”In the IPL the lanky bowler has played for Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune Supergiants. Last season, he did not play for any IPL team and went to England to play county cricket.
‘So playing for Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) is sort of a home coming .The target of team is to win. One thing I have realised in my career is that you should keep your individual performance behind the team’s performance. How many years can you live by your own individual performance? There will be a time when you take 300-350 wickets but you get bored. Making team win… the high of that is altogether different,” he opined.
Asked about ICC’s proposal to use standardised Dukes ball in all Tests, he replied “I think it’s a good thing, to be honest. There is always something for the bowler. With the Kookaburra ball, if there is nothing in the surface then the batsman will dominate. There is nothing for the bowler. That’s why Test cricket is going down.
“With Dukes ball, there is always something for the batsman and the bowler. It swings up till 40 overs, and after 60-80, it starts moving again. So, bowlers always have something to look forward to.”