Due to the injury crisis in the Indian camp lately, workload management has taken precedence.
According to Ishant, the key to sustaining and surviving long in international cricket, especially for a fast bowler, is to bowl as much as possible.
Due to the injury crisis in the Indian camp lately, workload management has taken precedence. However, Ishant feels the more the pacers bowl, the chances of them remaining injury-free increase.
"The only thing I would say right now is: 'Do not think too much about the workload'. That's a new term that's come up in recent times, especially for fast bowlers. I never saw something like that during my international stint. When I started playing, my coach was an old-fashioned coach who would give me a ball in hand at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and we would go on till the sunset. That's how I could bowl long spells when I made my debut in Ranji Trophy and later on for India. If you want to improve, the only thing you can do is to keep bowling," Ishant told Sportstar.
Jasprit Bumrah picked up a stress fracture on his lower back prior to the Asia Cup earlier this year. On his return in the home T20Is against Australia, Bumrah went down again with the same injury, which ruled him out of the T20 World Cup 2022 as well.
Just before the ongoing Bangladesh tour, Mohammad Shami sustained a shoulder injury and he has been ruled out for an indefinite period of time.
The worst of the lot is Deepak Chahar, who pulled his hamstring for the third time this year on the tour of Bangladesh.
As per Ishant Sharma, the frequent breaks offered to the fast bowlers need to be reconsidered.
"I think if you have made your name through domestic cricket, you should not be selective about playing games thereafter. If you want to play domestic cricket, nobody can stop you. Only when you have played a sizable amount of cricket for the country can you be given a break at times. Most pacers break down during Ranji Trophy games because they don't go through the ideal preparation," Ishant opined.
"Bowling in Ranji Trophy is a different ballgame altogether. If you are studying for the IAS exam, you have to study for 16 hours a day. Similarly, if you want to prepare to last a whole season of Ranji Trophy and bowl 20 overs a day, you cannot prepare for it by taking breaks. You have to prepare accordingly. Only if you are used to bowling 25 overs in the nets every day can you bowl 20 overs in a game."