India's premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan, currently recovering from a heel injury, praised Ishant Sharma's showing in Australia, saying the youngster has all the traits to develop into a top class fast bowler.
"He has come up really well. I was really happy to see him bowl in Australia, especially the spell he bowled to [Ricky] Ponting," Zaheer told rediff.com.
The 19-year-old seamer hit the headlines after a magnificent nine-over spell to Ponting during the third Test in Perth that had Australia's captain all at sea. He had the Australian batsmen in trouble with his swing and bounce every time he came on to bowl and finished the Test series with a haul of six wickets from three matches. In the Commonwealth Bank tri-series, he emerged the team's best bowler, claiming 14 wickets in nine games, as India emerged victorious after being Australia 2-0 in the finals.
In fact, it was Zaheer's withdrawal due to injury after the first Test in Melbourne that facilitated Ishant's inclusion in the team.
Zaheer, who played 53 Tests and 144 one-dayers since making his debut in October 2000, believes people should leave Ishant alone and not burden him with tips or suggestions.
His advice: "I think we should just leave him alone. He will develop into a good fast bowler; he is already on the way. So we should just let him be and let him bowl freely."
Zaheer said the most impressive aspect about Ishant is the hard work he puts in during the nets, something he observed during the tours of England and Australia last year.
"He is young and bowling really well. I can see that is working really hard on his bowling," he said.
The 29-year-old also applauded the performances of fellow left-armers R P Singh and Irfan Pathan, saying they have developed their bowling quite well recently.
"It is good to see all them perform well. R P has really come up. He is keen to learn things and developed into a good bowler.
"We always knew that Irfan would come back strongly. Once you perform at this level, even if you have a loss of form, you always know you got the ability. That is what Irfan has done; he proved in Australia that he has got the ability. Once the ball is rolling he can deliver," Zaheer said.
The left-armer felt Indian pace bowlers today are learning the tricks of the trade early in their career.
"A lot of fast bowlers have come up. Since I started playing Indian fast bowling standards have really gone up. It has got to do with a lot of academies, like the NCA [National Cricket Academy] and awareness about fitness and just the way the game has gone to a different level. It has created a lot of interest; a lot of good talent is coming in. The bowlers are learning things at an early age and that is a great sign for Indian cricket," he said.