Ishant Sharma: Unlike earlier, India have a pool of pacers

India pacer Ishant Sharma bowls during Day Two of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bangalore last month. Pic/AFP

Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan were more like lone rangers during their best days but India now has a pool of eight to nine fast bowlers, which make them a formidable Test outfit, feels senior most speedster Ishant Sharma.

With 238 wickets in 82 Test matches, Ishant is the most capped player in the longest version and along with Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami would pose challenge for the likes of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow when India face England in the upcoming five Test series, starting August 1.

'We can win in England'
"Everybody used to say that India can't produce fast bowlers. Now, we have probably eight to nine good fast bowlers, anytime who can play Test cricket for India. We have a pretty good chance to win a series in England and Australia, because of the kind of attack we have," Ishant told 'Daily Telegraph'. In a lighter vein, Ishant said: "Whatever I choose is my choice, so I can't really blame anyone why I didn't become a spinner and why I'm a fast bowler," Sharma joked.

Ishant played a massive role in India's only Test victory during the 2014 series when he took 7 for 74 in the second innings at Lord's. "The weather is so nice [in England], you can bowl long spells, conditions are helpful. The ball is nice, the wicket is favourable. There's a lot of difference between bowling in England and India," he said.

Experienced campaigner
Having been a part of Indian dressing room for a period of 11 years, Ishant has seen virtual transformation in training methods, a testimony to which is one of the fittest Indian teams of recent times.

Talking about the initial part of his career, Ishant said: "I was not the one who really believed in training. I didn't have too much knowledge about training. When I went home, I was not doing anything. Just relaxing and that's the point, I changed my life and improved my cricket skill level."

"We have become so much fitter because there is a lot of knowledge and contribution from everyone. If you want to play a good amount of cricket for the country, you need to work hard. You can't just bowl or just bat. You need to go into the gym, go running, look after your recovery system, your diet and everything," he said.

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