Former Australian Fast Bowler Jason Gillespie has heaped praise on Indians Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma for their work ethic during County spells. Gillespie revealed how impressed he was with Pujara and Ishant Sharma‘s work ethic while he was working closely with them. The former Australian bowler has worked with India’s Test mainstays during their County stints with Yorkshire and Sussex respectively.
Gillespie was the head coach of Yorkshire in 2015. He revealed how Pujara expressed his willingness to improve and prepare against the moving Duke’s ball. Pujara played 4 matches for Yorkshire in 2015 and represented the same side for 6 more games in 2018.
“We had Cheteshwar Pujara at Yorkshire a few years ago, when I was head coach there. We needed a batsman in the top three who could do a job for us in sometimes challenging conditions, Someone with a very good temperament, someone who could absorb some very good bowling,” Gillespie said.
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“Pujara fitted that bill perfectly. I think he found it a challenge, the early season in county cricket with the dukes cricket ball moving around in English conditions. He found that a challenge. I think that was really a good test for him as a player, a good learning curve for Cheteshwar,” he added.
After being ignored during the 2018 IPL auction, Ishant Sharma signed up with Sussex. The lanky Indian fast bowler had a successful spell with the county team taking up 15 wickets in 4matches. He also claimed a five-wicket-haul against Warwickshire. Surprisingly, Ishant also contributed with the bat, scoring 66 off 141 balls against Leicestershire.
He recalled, “You know what really struck me about Ishant was his thirst for knowledge, his willingness to listen, ask questions, try something new because sometimes you can get senior players, experienced players who will just go about and do their thing. They know what they need to do and that’s fine. But Ishant was very much… he knew what he needed to do to bowl well. He also knew he wanted to get better.”
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Gillespie lauded Ishant for the positive effect he had on his teammates. Former England allrounder Luke Wright was in agreement with Gillespie’s assessment. He had tweeted-
Massive thank you to @ImIshant for your amazing efforts for the team. We could not ask for a more dedicated overseas player and a lovely funny man off the pitch. Good luck and see you over here soon mate. 👍
— Luke Wright (@lukewright204) June 5, 2018
Jason Gillespie explained, “The Sussex players were really impressed with Ishant’s work ethic. They loved his personality. He fitted in really well in the dressing room. But his capacity to learn, ask questions, try things. His work ethic in the nets, or on the track was phenomenal. It was really good for our young seam bowlers at Sussex to see, that this is what it takes for a Test bowler.”
“He is an Indian Test bowler, and he is bowling really hard and working really hard to get better at his game. And he is still trying really hard to get better each and every day. So, it was really good for our young bowlers at Sussex to see such an experienced player, continually trying to improve and get better,” he added.
