Ahead of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final, veteran India pacer Ishant Sharma has said that the ball will swing even without saliva in Southampton and somebody from the team will need to maintain the red cherry.
Team India are due to take on New Zealand in the marquee game from June 18-22 and Ishant, a veteran of 101 Tests, is expected to spearhead the fast bowling attack.
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“I think the ball will swing even without saliva and somebody needs to take responsibility to maintain the ball,” Ishant said on 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,” he added.
Notably, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned the traditional practice of applying saliva on the ball in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
According to Ishant, who has experience of playing county cricket, adjusting to lengths is important in English conditions.
“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,” said 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,” he further remarked.
Batting in English conditions is considered among the toughest job in cricket, and young India opener Shubman Gill believes it is important to leave the loose balls.
“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,” said the 21-year-old, who was one of the stars in India’s Test series win Down Under earlier this year.
“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 added.
(With PTI inputs)
