Ishant is the leader of the pack, says India bowling coach

Brisbane, Dec 15 (IANS) India's bowling coach Bharat Arun said Monday that Ishant Sharma is the 'leader' of the team's bowling unit in the ongoing series against Australia since he is the most experienced among the pacers in the squad.

The coach said the team's younger bowlers looked up to Ishant who converses with his colleagues on a regular basis, providing them with inputs and ideas whenever required.

"Ishant is the leader of this attack. The bowlers look up to Ishant and sometimes, when he comes up with an idea and talks directly to the younger guys, it creates much more impact than the coach saying it. It is smart to get the senior bowler speak to his colleagues directly about what he did right and the lessons he learnt," Arun was quoted as saying by bcci.tv Monday.

The coach also said that his job was only to add a new dimension to Ishant's bowling as he has already played considerable number of Test matches, and knows what's best for him.

"Ishant has already played 60-odd Test matches. He is very smart and knows what he is doing. My task as is to add a new dimension to his bowling," he added.

"At this level you have to improve constantly. We call it the one per cent factor. The players who constantly look to be one per cent better today than they were yesterday, will come out on top. For this small improvement, you need to pay close attention to details."

He also stated that he would use the 26-year-old's experience to 'package' a rookie bowler like Varun Aaron or Umesh Yadav who has just arrived to the international circuit.

"With someone who is new, you use the experience of Ishant and package it to him in a way that would suit his style. You find out who is the bowler the youngster looks up to and why he admires him," said the 52-year-old former Indian cricketer.

"Then you pick aspects of the role model's game and use them to improve the youngster. You identify a few things that he can do to bridge the gap between him and his role model and convince him to do it."

Ishant has 179 wickets to his name in 59 Test matches at a bowling average of 37.25 so far