Having hurt his left landing leg, Ishan made a comeback in 12 days from an injury that usually takes three weeks to heal and his 6-2-17-4 skittled Pakistan out for 69 in the semi-final.
IMAGE: Ishan Porel, second from right, celebrates a wicket. Photograph: ICC/Twitter
A foot injury almost derailed his U-19 World Cup campaign, but pacer Ishan Porel was desperate to contribute to the Indian team's success, so he chose to play through pain, his coach Bibhash Das revealed on Saturday.
Having ruptured the outstep tissue on his left landing leg, Ishan made a comeback in 12 days from an injury that usually takes three weeks to heal and his 6-2-17-4 skittled Pakistan out for 69 in the semi-final.
In the final, Ishan (2/30) dismissed both the Australian openers -- Jack Edwards (28) and Max Bryant (14) -- inside the Powerplay before India bundled them out for 216, en route to a commanding eight-wicket win with 67 balls to spare.
"He has not fully recovered, and bowled with pain on his foot. Such a kind of injury would take a minimum three weeks to recover," Das, who had a word with Ishan after the injury, said.
"It's not actually an ankle injury. He has a tear on his outstep of the left leg. He bowled with a heavily taped leg with insole in his shoe so that he does not aggravate his injury," Das added.
"It's only because of the advanced treatment in New Zealand that he could play in the three knockout matches," the coach said.
Hailing from a family with strong roots in sports, Ishan was a table tennis player before his height made him a natural choice to be a fast bowler.
With a 6' 3" frame, Ishan is now struggling with his fitness.
"He's struggling with his height, finding it difficult to cope up the sudden growth in a few years," Das said.
The coach is aware of the tough road ahead and said his ward should aim to be in India's team for the World Cup 2019.
"The biggest challenge for him, and me, is to keep him physically fit so that he can bowl with full strength. We will do our best."
"Ishan should target the World Cup 2019 now," Das said.
Having made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bengal this season, Ishan has impressed with his pace and bounce.
"He was consistently clocking 138 kph. His forte has been speed and bounce. He's not a swing bowler per se, but he has a natural ability to generate off the seam movement and more bounce," Das said.
"The Under-19 World Cup is definitely a great exposure. One looks up to the future, from there," Das said.
"Not everyone gets an opportunity to play in the World Cup, even the likes of V V S Laxman, Irfan Pathan did not get a chance."
"But the journey begins now. You have to keep working hard. You cannot stop now. You should know that you won't be 19 again!"
It was a festive atmosphere in Ishan's locality in Chandannagar, about 50 kilometres away from Kolkata in Hooghly district as thousands gathered with the Tricolour and Ishan's posters to celebrate the World Cup win.
"You won't understand unless you come here. Thousands from our locality have gathered here and celebrating the win with drum beats and dancing in India Tricolours. We have sweets for all. This success belongs to all of you," his father Chandranath Porel said.
The father revealed that his son was disappointed after not being picked by any of the franchises in the Indian Premier League auctions, but Rahul Dravid's advice worked wonders for him.
"Dravid sir told him 'Don't worry it (IPL) happens every year, but a World Cup comes once in a lifetime. So give it your best." The mantra has worked wonders for him," Chandranath Porel said about Ishan who had a four-wicket haul two days after the IPL auction.
"I am sure his time will come," Chandranath Porel said. "The target for him to make the cut for the seniors. We all know it's tough, but Ishan will keep putting in the hard yards."
"It's been a fairy-tale comeback for Ishan from his injury," his father added.
"The way he bowled and single-handedly won the match for India against Pakistan in the semi-final is highly commendable," Chandranath Porel said before distributing sweets in his locality.
