India’s veteran pacer, Ishant Sharma, has explained the success of the Indian team’s bowling under the leadership of Virat Kohli, as they saw a historic transformation in the pace unit across the world, and it changed how they became the pace revolution from the spin team in the five-day format of the game.

Speaking during an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, Ishat explained the biggest change under Kohli was the understanding of the roles, mindset, and planning, as he was helped by the other fast bowlers—Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and later the premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, who made his debut under Virat Kohli.

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“When Umesh and Shami first came in, they were young and still learning. But by the time Virat became captain, they were settled. Then Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined, and later Jasprit Bumrah. Suddenly, we had a full fast-bowling attack.” Ishant expressed in the interview.

Ishant Sharma sheds light on India’s pace bowling growth

According to the Delhi Pacer, Kohli made sure that every bowler would know where they stand in the team, and whenever they would be playing at home or overseas, the plan would always be decided for each and every bowler, which made a massive change in their planning and tactics later on in their careers.

Watch the video here: 

Ishant Sharma का खुलासा: 'फास्ट बॉलर अगर गुंडा नहीं होगा तो बॉलिंग नहीं कर पाएगा'

'सबसे बड़ गुंडा तो ईशांत है… मानो मत मानो… ऑफ द फील्ड, ऑन द फील्ड सबसे बड़ा गुंडा है भाई…'
मोहित शर्मा, पूर्व भारतीय क्रिकेटर#SalaamCricket2026 #T20WorldCup | @y_umesh | @VikrantGupta73 pic.twitter.com/UaahAJO1nG

— AajTak (@aajtak) February 5, 2026

Ishant also recalled the moment from the 2015 Sri Lanka tour that perfectly summed up the aggressive thinking of Kohli, as he was not afraid of fast bullets conceding runs as long as they were attacking and looking to take wickets in winning the contest.

“If we were playing overseas, these three fast bowlers would play. In India, these two would play. Everything was communicated clearly beforehand. That kind of clarity builds confidence. Before one test match, Virat told me, ‘Even if you go for 20 runs in five overs, I don’t mind. Just think about taking wickets. Don’t only try to stop runs with the new ball.” Ishant addressed it during the same interaction on Aaj Tak.