Ishant Sharma has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy © BCCI
Ishant Sharma “is looking good”, a BCCI observer said after the India quick, who is on the path to recovery after leaving IPL 2020 with an abdominal muscle tear, went through the first of two bowling spells at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning in the presence of Sunil Joshi, the chairman of selectors, and Rahul Dravid, the NCA chief.
Sharma was bowling on one of the side pitches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, during the lunch break of a 50-overs-a-side corporate cricket match. After his bowling stint, Sharma went through a few basic stretching routines, and then returned for a short fielding session, alternating between high and flat catches. When the club fixture was about to resume, he had a long chat with Joshi outside the boundary rope. Sharma, who is making his way to full fitness for India’s Test series in Australia, has been named in the provisional squad, but has to be passed fit to make the trip. The signs on Wednesday were positive, with Sharma not appearing in any discomfort while bowling close to six overs overall.
Sharma has been at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), housed within the Chinnaswamy Stadium complex, since returning from his IPL stint with the Delhi Capitals. The injury came to light when he complained of acute pain in his rib cage during a training session in Dubai. He was officially ruled out of the IPL on October 9, after having featured in just one game.
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Sharma’s session on Wednesday was supervised by Paras Mhambrey, the former India fast bowler who is also the head coach of India’s Under-19 team, and lasted about 45 minutes. He is slated to bowl on the centre pitch once the day’s corporate match ends.
He had started from a short run-up but then proceeded to mark his normal run-up with a measuring tape after just three deliveries. He bowled uninterrupted for the next 20 minutes, before taking a short break, stopping for chats with Mhambrey, who he has been working with since reaching the NCA last month, and the trainers. Then, he started his second spell from the other end.
He proceeded to run in full tilt and swung the ball both ways, peppering the lone stump placed at the batting end. He got a few deliveries to rear up from a length too, and got them to carry nicely to the man placed behind the stump with a baseball mitt on, getting thumbs-ups more than once from Mhambrey.
Should he be declared fit – recently the Dravid-helmed NCA had communicated to the BCCI that Sharma would be ready to start bowling from November 18, after which he would need to prove his match fitness – Sharma will travel separately to Australia to meet up with his team-mates.
Sharma has been hampered by a number of injuries this year. Having picked up a five-for in the first Test in New Zealand at the start of the year, he missed the second because of an ankle injury. He is currently three matches short of becoming only the second Indian fast bowler to play 100 Test matches after Kapil Dev.
India will play two practice games in Sydney (December 6-8 and December 11-13) before travelling to Adelaide for the series-opening pink-ball Test, India’s first day-night Test overseas.
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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