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Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra, who made a comeback in the India ODI squad for the West Indies tour, have impressed their IPL side Deccan Chargers captain Kumar Sangakkara who said the Delhi duo deserved to be back in the national side.
"Ishant was really outstanding for us this season. When he came in he was a bit rusty, but you could see his top quality in the nets. He's probably the best fast bowler currently in India along with Zak (Zaheer Khan).
"He's proven in this IPL by performing consistently, day in and out," he said at the match-eve press conference ahead of Deccan's IPL match against Pune Warriors. The former Sri Lanka captain said that Ishant thrived on confidence and the young Indian paceman has shown it in this IPL.
"Just a case in point when we were defending a low total (135 against Mumbai Indians yesterday). Ishant always bowls well when he's got his confidence and is intent attacking right from the start.
"When he's got that confidence he's able to raise his game. He really wanted to show some intent in the first six overs and came charging in. That was really good for us," said Sangakkara who stepped down as Sri Lanka skipper after the World Cup. He also came in for praise of leg-spinner Mishra, whose all-round show yesterday helped Deccan scored a stunning upset over Mumbai Indians.
"The Indian guys like Ishant and Amit Mishra have been outstanding. This is the first time I have seen Amit from up close 'keeping to him. He's got all the tricks the leg spinner should have. At the same time what is important for a leggie is that he's got a huge heart, very strong character.
"That (character) came through yesterday with his batting (when he struck Munaf Patel for four successive fours in the last over of the DC innings)," Sangakkara said.
"He is a guy who will grab every opportunity given to him and try and do well with it," he added. Sangakkara said IPL performance can be taken into account for choosing national Twenty20 sides which he felt was what the Indian selectors did when choosing the ODI squad for the West Indies.
"The real question is what you are selecting the players for. If it's the Twenty20 side, may be you can consider T20 performance like IPL. Selecting players for ODI side or a Test side, I don't think IPL format is really that much, as it's quite a different format.
"At the same time when you see guys like Ishant (Sharma) and Amit (Mishra) and they do consistently well as bowlers even in this format of the game, that means they have a lot to offer. Especially bowlers with the skills they have.
"I think those two guys have done really well and have played for India. They (selectors) know what they (Ishant and Amit) had. They probably waited to see how these guys step up in the IPL and they did it," he said.