Ishant Sharma: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ishant Sharma Negates Team Australia’s Mind Games

What he said (via Espn Cricinfo):

“They (the Australians) are better at playing mind games than they are at playing the game.”

India pace spearhead Ishant Sharma has sensible words of advice for Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Speaking to Mail Today, the lanky fast bowler expressed satisfaction with his performances this year. Sharma missed out on Team India’s ODI World Cup party.

Sharma said:

It has been a very good year for me. I am happy with my rhythm and pace. Even though I didn’t get wickets on some occasions, I am pleased with the way I have bowled this year.But the learning process never stops. Even someone like Sachin Tendulkar says he is still learning about the game after 22 years. So I am always learning to improve. For me, every day is a new day.

Sharma will lead the inexperienced Indian attack if Zaheer Khan does not fully recover from his ankle injury.

Sharma said:

Obviously, having Zaheer would be a huge bonus. But if he is not there, it would be an honour to lead the attack in Australia. It would be a great responsibility. Every fast bowler dreams of leading the attack for the country.Australia is going to be very exciting. But the key would be not to put pressure on yourself. If you keep thinking about results and wickets, it would only add to the pressure. So I would look to just enjoy myself. This time in Australia, patience will be the key.The thing is that Australian batsmen don’t like to be tied down and if you bowl patiently at them, you can pick wickets. So bowling tightly would be the best strategy.

Sharma looks forward to bowling in tandem with pace prospects, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.

Sharma said:

Bowling with Umesh and Varun is quite exciting. They have the pace and the best thing is they are willing to learn. The more they bowl, they more will learn to exploit the conditions.

What he really meant:

“Cricket’s played more in the mind than anything else and ,boy, don’t the Aussies know it.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Sledge me if you can.”