Former batsman-turned-commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar, believes the Indian team will find life extremely difficult in absence of experienced quick Ishant Sharma during the Test series in Australia. 

Ishant, 32, who has played 97 Tests and is near the tag of only the third Indian paceman to get 300 wickets in the format, was integral to the success of Virat Kohli's team on the last trip when they retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Read Also: Ishant's absence a "big loss" for India but will be "watchful" of Bumrah, says Smith

However, Ishant was ruled out of this tour as he recovers from a side strain picked up at the sidelines of IPL 2020 in UAE in October. 

For Manjrekar, the consistency and the control Ishant provides, makes him an irreplaceable commodity. 

"India will miss Ishant Sharma very, very badly because he was the third support bowler. He ensured that the pressure wasn’t off. In many ways, Mohammed Shami and Bumrah are your seam bowlers and you needed somebody to just keep that line outside the off-stump, be economical keep the pressure on," said Manjrekar on 'Sony Network'.

A far cry from the workhorse who kept running in without much rewards, Manjrekar noted, Ishant is a vastly improved bowler from the first half of his career. 

"We had Hardik Pandya in the ODI or the T20 series, he found the right bat. We had Steve Smith saying that he found his hands in the ODI series. About three-four years back Ishant Sharma found his wrists and since then his life has changed," he said. 

"He has continued to bowl relentlessly outside off-stump but something is happening now after the ball pitches and that has got him to bowl a lot fuller. We have seen five-wickets hauls as well and not just economy from Ishant Sharma," Manjrekar added. 

The Test series kicks-off on December 17 with India's historic maiden away D/N pink-ball encounter in Adelaide.