Ishan Afridi has pre-empted my final question. We’ve been speaking for twenty-five minutes in the conference room at Radisson Red, Indore. I’ve gotten hold of the fast bowler following multiple attempts to reach out through various sources, and post an insightful conversation about his bowling he thinks I’m about to address the elephant in the room.
Well, his guessing game is on point. I had saved the loaded query for the last on the premise that it would be easier to slip in once we have developed a rapport. As Ishan begins to answer jovially, perhaps a function of the extended break Gwalior Cheetahs have enjoyed in a crammy league, I feel I’ve played my cards right.
“Earlier, I wouldn’t mince my words if someone stared daggers at me. Now, I’ve learned to regulate emotions through meditation and have the self-control to not explode every now and then,’’ Ishan admits. “I’m a better bowler because of that. Previously, if I was leaking runs I would take my anger out on others but I’ve mended my ways. I’m able to compose myself and think clearly even if things are not turning out in my favour.’’
It was an important bit to address since hyper-aggression and mental clutter can easily lead to impulsive reactions on the cricket field, hurting a player’s performance in the end. During the third MPLT20 season, Ishan has given enough glimpses of his potential to vindicate the fact that his grounding capacity has improved over the years. He is not a finished product by any means, but the psychological growth has turned him into a reliable operator for captain Rajat Patidar, who has used him in different phases of the innings to good effect, by and large.
Malwa Stallions returned home with a wooden spoon but in their first two matches, Rishabh Chouhan and Akhil Nigote Yadav had shown promise with the bat. They were scheduled to face Gwalior Cheetahs next, with the action moving from Holkar Stadium to Daly College.
Ishan nabbed both the in-form batters, the dismissals lying on the opposite ends of the fast bowling spectrum to showcase his range. While Akhil was castled for a duck with an away nibbler that brought him forward only to peg his off-stump back, Rishabh edged a square cut off a slow and wide bumper. Preceding these wickets was the departure of Parth Sahani, an experienced pro with 53 appearances in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Ishan recounts how Rajat’s intervention helped on that occasion.
“I suggested we remove the slip, push mid-off back and call third man inside the circle. Rajat bhai was of the opinion that the field stayed put despite Malwa Stallions being 67/1 after the PowerPlay. His inputs worked as Parth was caught nicking behind,’’ Ishan reflected. “Having led Royal Challengers Bangalore to consecutive IPL titles, he has grown tactically shrewder,” he said of the skipper who saved his two overs for the death keeping in mind the destructive ability of opposite number Ashutosh Sharma.
Another on-song batter that Ishan curtailed was Pawan Nirwani. In the campaign opener of Bhopal Leopards, he scored 74 lower down the order to run Gwalior Cheetahs close in a tall chase of 220. The shortened match was played on a black-soil surface left to the center pitch, which meant the square leg was the longer boundary for a left-hander taking strike at the Adani End. In his second spell, Ishan banged the slower variations into the deck, asking Pawan to muscle the pull if he harboured aspirations of clearing the rope. Fresh off an economical outing against Ujjain Falcons where Yash Dubey lost his poles to his nip-backer on 37, Ishan did not concede a single boundary against Pawan.
“We had done our homework. We knew he was strong down the ground, so I was wary of serving him full balls in the swinging arc. The leg-side boundary was 73m, so the leadership group had worked out that we’ll take pace off the ball,’’ Ishan pinpoints. “Video analysis is a boon because we get to know about a batter’s strengths and weaknesses beforehand. We sit and discuss our bowling strategy in detail on the match eve.’’
The proceedings don’t always bend to his wishes though, a stone-cold truth that bowlers have had to make peace with in an increasingly ruthless environment. Harsh Gawli and Abhishek Pathak, the opening pair of Bundelkhand Bulls, fetched 31 off Ishan’s initial salvo whereas Ankush Singh razed his figures down to 53/2 en route to a madcap ton.
Ishan was prone to entering a blank headspace in such situations, when the batter is firmly on top, but his introspective journey has guided him to an equilibrium. It was evident in the manner he bounced back from a hat-trick of fours by Tripuresh Singh, a breakthrough that precipitated a mini-collapse for Chambal Ghariyals. “Growing up, I loved watching Shoaib Akhtar in full flow. I carry the same attitude. I look to dominate, no matter how bleak the circumstances.’’ Ishan avers.
Passion imbibed from the Rawalpindi Express, he credits a compatriot in Madhya Pradesh for his organized approach. “I have been inspired by teammate Anubhav Agarwal’s accuracy. His grouping is tight around the hard lengths, something I try to emulate,’’ Ishan acknowledges. “In terms of my change-ups, I like to keep things simple. I rely on my slower delivery and yorker, which I practise by positioning a cone or a shoe in front of the stumps.’’
An injured groin sidelined Ishan for an year recently, deeming him unavailable for the second edition of MPLT20. On the comeback trail, his effectiveness at key junctures has put behind a host of issues that held him back as a bowler. A series of 15 no-balls in a divisional fixture underscored his landing problem, a short fuse put him at a disadvantage in a sport that is as mental as it is physical, and an element of waywardness that was directly correlated to the grey matter rather than having anything to do with his skill.
For, his talent has always been obvious to the eye, fuelling a steady rise through the Madhya Pradesh ranks which set him up for an India Under19 camp and Ranji Trophy selection games.
“Illegal deliveries were my worst nightmare. I used to postpone wicket celebrations due to the fear that I may have overstepped. I’ve benefitted from the drills recommended by Ubaid Kamal, the bowling coach of Gwalior Cheetahs. We rectified the sprinting rhythm,’’ Ishan apprises me about fixing the root of the evil.
If his wholehearted commitment and zealous intensity is the yardstick, Ishan can be likened to Mohammed Siraj. He is an ultra-competitive cricketer who puts his hand up in difficult scenarios and never shies away from a challenge. Case in point, the responsibility he assumed in the absence of IPL contract holder Mangesh Yadav, who split his webbing midway through the tournament.
A bright future awaits Ishan, for every leader prefers a bowler willing to run through a brick wall on his command. That he has the acumen required to flourish at the senior level makes the boy from Agar Malwa district one to watch out for.
