Bengaluru, June 15: Senior India paceman Ishant Sharma has said the conditions in England will help in swing bowling even without the use of saliva, which has been restricted due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against New Zealand which is scheduled to start from June 18, Ishant shared his views on how the use of saliva probably won't be that important, but added that the ball needs to be maintained well.
"I think it is not that difficult. I think the ball will swing even without saliva and somebody needs to take responsibility to maintain the ball. And if the ball is maintained well in these conditions, then it becomes easier for the bowlers to take wickets in these conditions," Ishant said during Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
With the conditions favouring pacers, India are expected to play the pace trio of Ishant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
The senior India pacer Ishant also stressed on the importance of adapting to changes as a cricketer when playing in different conditions.
"You need to train differently and adapt to the change. In India, you get the reverse swing after some time, but in England, the length is fuller because of the swing. So, you have to adjust to the lengths. It is not easy to force that and the weather here is cooler so it takes time to acclimatize to the weather," Ishant added.
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Ishant also feels it will take a little time to adjust to the conditions as training outdoors is very much different to training in the gym.
"And the quarantine makes it difficult because you cannot go to the ground, after IPL we were not allowed to go to the grounds and train. The way you train in the gym and the training on the ground is very different, so you have to adjust to that and it takes time."