Sanjay Manjrekar criticises Ishant Sharma and India's overt show of aggression

Ishant Sharma was overemphatic while giving batsmen send-offs in the 3rd Test against Sri Lanka

In his column for ESPNCricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar condemned Ishant Sharma and India’s overt show of aggression in the recently concluded tour of Sri Lanka.

India had won the series 2-1 after a gutsy display to come back from 1-0 down, but Ishant Sharma’s going overboard with his send-offs to the batsmen has led to a match ban for him. India will be without their in-form premier pacer when the Test series against South Africa starts off on 2 October.

Manjrekar had unkind words to offer in assessment of Ishant’s performance in the 3rd Test:

“When a batsman gets out, his whole world comes crashing down on him, and he is emotionally extremely vulnerable. It's a surprise that no Sri Lankan batsman punched Ishant in the face.

“I myself did some silly things as a player. An umpire sent me off the field in a Ranji game once, and he was right to do so.”

Manjrekar also cited Dhammika Prasad’s behaviour as something the Indian team could learn from.

“Not once as he took his 15 wickets in the series did Dhammika Prasad scream angrily into an Indian batsman's face. Instead he chose to join his teammates to savour the moment with a smile. Right there, I thought, was a lesson for Ishant and India to learn.

“What I can't fathom about these send-offs is: when a wicket falls, it means the batsman has failed and the bowler has succeeded, but it's the bowler who is angry for some reason. Why should anger follow success?”

If part of aggressive cricket, then it makes no cricketing sense: Manjrekar

Manjrekar also seemed to point fingers at the approach of the new leadership, wondering whether Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri’s brand of aggressive cricket has more than a little bit of collateral damage – such that which has led to the loss of the services of their best pacer in a crucial match.

“That the Indians are not trying to tone their behaviour down after Australia, and have got into ugly confrontations with even a team like Sri Lanka, tells me that they don't see these actions as misdemeanours at all.

Perhaps this is all part of their new brand of aggressive cricket. If that's the case, it does not make any cricketing sense at all. For this version of aggressive cricket has cost India the services of their strike bowler, a player who is in great form, in a crucial Test match.