Veteran India pacer Ishant Sharma believes that the ball will swing even without using saliva in it during the upcoming World Test Championship final against New Zealand, starting June 18. However, after playing 101 Tests for the country, he is likely to lead the Indian bowling attack in the summit clash.
“I think the ball will swing even without saliva and somebody needs to take responsibility to maintain the ball,” Sharma said on the Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’. “And if the ball is maintained well in these conditions, then it becomes easier for the bowlers to take wickets in these conditions.”
These quicks are dominating everyday 👍🇮🇳 @mdsirajofficial @ImIshant pic.twitter.com/anUrYhgaRu
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 14, 2021
Meanwhile, since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world last year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has brought a few changes in the game, including that the bowlers wouldn’t be allowed to apply saliva to the ball. But, according to the pacer, adjusting to lengths is important in England rather than anything else.
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“You need to train differently and adapt to the change. In India, you get the reverse swing after some time, but in England, the length is fuller because of the swing. So, you have to adjust to the lengths. It is not easy to force that and the weather here is cooler so it takes time to acclimatize to the weather,” again shared Ishant Sharma. “And the quarantine makes it difficult…The way you train in the gym and the training on the ground is very different, so you have to adjust to that and it takes time.”
On the other hand, young India opener Shubman Gill has said that to survive in England, the batters need to play cautiously and leave the loose balls as well.
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“When I toured England with India A and the Under-19 team, everyone asked me to play a certain number of balls if I wanted to score runs. But I feel, your intent to score runs should never go on the back seat and you should look to survive. When you are looking to score runs, the bowlers get to the back foot and you can put some pressure on the bowler. I think, at times to survive in England you have to leave the loose balls,” he stated.
