Bumrah will easily surpass me: Ishant

Ahmedabad: India speedster Ishant Sharma had a word of praise for Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium at Motera and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on Monday.

“This is a fantastic new stadium with grand settings,’’ said the 32-year-old during a virtual interaction with the media. Ishant looks all set to become the second Indian fast bowler, after Kapil Dev (131 Tests), to play his 100th Test in the pink-ball encounter against England beginning here on Wednesday.

“I feel Bumrah will be playing more Tests than me,’’ was an instant answer from Ishant, when asked as to which Indian pacer he felt would surpass him in the future.

“We have a bunch of good fast bowlers like Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj. While Saini can extract more speed, Siraj's strong point is his control. I feel each Indian fast bowler knows his role in the team," said Ishant, who had wrecked England's batting at Lord's in the 2014 series with a superb spell of 7-74.

Ishant also has vivid memories of his first Australia tour in 2007-08, taking some vital wickets. “I was a youngster and it was just my fourth Test. Playing at Perth I took the wickets of Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting,’’ said Ishant, who is the third Indian speedster to take over 300 Test wickets.

Ishant also thanked former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan. “I have learnt a lot from Zak (Zaheer). I learnt about the work ethics from him,’’ said Ishant, who played his first Test under the leadership of Rahul Dravid against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2007.

Ishant emphasized the need for fitness among the Indian bowlers. “Mai apne training aur body par kafi dhyan deta hoon,’’ said Ishant.

So does crossing Kapil Dev's 131 Tests come to his mind?

"I only want to think about qualifying for the World Test Championship final. This is my World Cup where if I win, I can have the same feeling that others had while winning the ODI World Cup."

Ask him about Jimmy Anderson playing at 38 and if he could continue till that age, he laughs.

"I will go one game at a time. You never know what comes next. Yes, I am more professional about my recovery now. Earlier, I would train hard but didn't focus on my recovery. As you grow older, you need to recover well to bowl long spells."