'He told me that I have a brilliant length, but I need to develop a slow seam delivery' - Ishant Sharma reveals Jasprit Bumrah's influence on 'knuckle ball' development

Ishant Sharma is having a great run in IPL 2023 on his comeback as he has picked ten wickets from eight matches for Delhi Capitals at an average of 20.60 and an economy of 8.24. The 34-year-old was also awarded Player of the Match during match 28 vs Kolkata Knight Riders as his four-over spell of 2/19 helped DC to restrict KKR to 127 resulting in a four-wicket win. 

Over the years, Ishant has adapted to the demands of the game and added several tricks up his sleeve. In the ongoing season, he has impressed everyone with his knuckle ball. Recently, he revealed how a piece of advice from Jasprit Bumrah back in 2018 helped him to develop the delivery.

"I asked Jasprit Bumrah what he thought about my bowling in T20s during the Melbourne Test in 2018. He told me that I have a brilliant length, but I need to develop a slow seam delivery, which would deceive a batter. So thereafter, I worked on delivering the knuckleball," said Ishant in the DC podcast.

In the ongoing IPL season, Ishant outfoxed Vijay Shankar during match 44 against Gujarat Titans and destroyed his stumps. The delivery got special praise from Harsha Bhogle who said that he was watching it on loop. The right-arm seamer bowled a brilliant spell of 2/23 in four overs and helped his side win the game by five runs.

Harsha Bhogle@bhogleharsha

Seeing Ishant Sharma's knuckle ball last night on loop as I wait for my flight to take off ....

06:03 AM · May 03, 2023

11.3K242

Harsha Bhogle@bhogleharsha

Already got my highlight of the day. Ishant Sharma to Padikkal. What a ball!

07:51 PM · Apr 27, 2021

15K330

Further talking about his time away from the game in 2022 when he went unsold at the IPL auction, Sharma said that his passion and love for the game drove him to train hard.

 I have not set any expectations for myself: Ishant Sharma

"I'm enjoying my cricket right now. I have not set any expectations for myself and I have nothing to lose. When I went unsold last year, my wife asked me to remind myself why I started playing cricket. Then, my love and passion for the game drove me to train really hard. I have also worked with a fast bowling coach and we spoke about the aspects I can improve on," Sharma added.

After getting unsold at the IPL 2022 mega auction, Sharma was bought for INR 50 Lakh by Delhi Capitals at the mini-auction held in December 2022. Despite his good show with the ball, the Delhi-born seamer couldn’t save his side from a miserable campaign as they’re ranked last (tenth) on the points table with 10 points from 13 matches. The David Warner-led side will play their last fixture against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, May 20 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.