For six to nine months, Ishan Sood bowled one delivery. A good length, aimed at the top of off-stump, the same ball again and again, with a single cricket ball for company. He and his father, Dheeraj, practised nothing else.

That patience is now on show at the Under-19 Asia Cup, where the 17-year-old from Morinda, Punjab, has become one of the more interesting young quicks to watch. At 6 feet 4 inches, Ishan has the sort of frame that makes a fast bowler stand out before he has delivered a ball. Eight wickets in three matches tell part of the story. The manner in which he has taken them tells the rest.

Against Nepal, he bowled 10 overs, four of them maidens, and conceded just 18 runs for three wickets. Against Pakistan came a disciplined 1 for 36 in nine overs. Against the UAE he produced the best figures of the three: four wickets for 37 runs in seven overs.

What catches the eye is the control, more than the height or the bounce. He keeps returning to the corridor of uncertainty, targeting the top of off-stump and making batters play. He can swing the ball both ways. Bowling from a wide angle to a right-hander, he can also straighten it after pitching, which beats most batters at will. There is a useful yorker too. For a young fast bowler, there is already a fair bit to work with.

Social media has begun comparing him with Ishant Sharma: the height, the lanky frame, the ball that straightens after pitching. It is an early comparison, and Ishan has a long way to go. But how he got here is the more unusual story.

There is no elaborate coaching set-up and no permanent specialist overseeing every aspect of his bowling. For years it has largely been a two-man operation, Ishan and his father. Their classroom has been the cricket ground, but also YouTube, Google, social media and, more recently, ChatGPT.

They watch, research, swap videos and talk it through. A particular delivery catches their attention, and they work out how it is bowled, when it can be used and whether it might suit Ishan. Sometimes it is a bowling variation. At other times it could be a gym exercise, a nutritional requirement or a technical adjustment.

“We rely a lot on social media, YouTube, Google and ChatGPT. We research things and discuss them with each other. We share videos, point out what a particular bowler is doing and work out what we need to learn or practise,” Dheeraj tells IndiaToday.in.

This is not a case of watching a fast bowler on a screen and copying his action. Father and son spend time understanding why a delivery works, where it should be bowled and how it can fit into Ishan’s game. The back-of-the-hand slower ball was one they learnt exactly that way.

“We research almost everything, from nutrition and gym training to bowling techniques. Whatever we need to learn, we look it up on social media and study it in detail. We try to understand every aspect of his development,” Dheeraj says.

For a father who played club-level cricket himself, it has become close to a full-time pursuit. Dheeraj bowled fast and grew up admiring Allan Donald and Glenn McGrath. He never progressed to the state level, something he partly puts down to the lack of sporting support available in his playing days. He wanted his sons to have a different experience.

His elder son also wanted to become a cricketer, but an injury cut short that ambition. He had been sent elsewhere for training, and the setback changed the family’s plans. With Ishan, Dheeraj decided he would take charge himself. There would be no permanent coach. He would accompany his younger son to practice and oversee his development.

It came at a cost. When Ishan was around 13, Dheeraj sold his garment showroom to devote more time and resources to his son’s cricket.

“I didn’t know beforehand that he would become a good fast bowler. I knew I would make him one!” Dheeraj says, laughing.

His own cricketing ambitions had not gone as far as he would have liked. His elder son’s journey had ended prematurely. Ishan would get every opportunity the family could provide.

NINE MONTHS, ONE DELIVERY

The training was built on repetition rather than variety. For months, father and son worked on a single delivery: a good length, aimed at the top of off-stump. The idea was to make Ishan so comfortable bowling that ball, over and over, that he would never lose his line or length.

“We spent a long time working on just one thing: bowling a good length, targeting the top of off-stump. We spent six to nine months concentrating on that delivery, using just one ball,” Dheeraj says.

Only after Ishan had mastered that length did they move on to developing movement in both directions.

“He already had natural swing and seam movement. Once he mastered that length, we worked on bringing the ball in and taking it away from the same spot. We spent another eight or nine months on that. We did not practise anything else during that period.”

Yorkers came later, and took far less time. Dheeraj was struck by how quickly his son picked up the delivery.

“After that, we moved on to yorkers. We practised them for 10 to 15 days, and within 16 days, he had become very good at bowling them. He is a very quick learner.”

The emphasis on one length, and on movement from the same spot, is now visible in Ishan’s bowling. His height helps him extract bounce, but he is not simply looking to hurry batters with pace. He wants them to commit to a shot, and then he makes the ball do something different.

IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS AT 17

The age-group record suggests the method has worked. In the 2024-25 Vijay Merchant Trophy, playing Under-16 cricket, Ishan picked up 28 wickets in seven matches. He averaged 17.64, conceded just 2.36 runs per over and bowled 68 maidens across 1,003 deliveries.

He carried that form into the Under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Last year he took 20 wickets in eight matches and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with Punjab reaching the final. This year, Punjab went one step further. Ishan played a key role in bowling them to victory, with a four-wicket haul against Mumbai in the final in Indore in October.

His performances brought opportunities with the India Under-19 side, including the Challenger Trophy and the triangular series. Missing the previous Asia Cup and World Cup cycle was a setback. He returned to the India set-up through the tour of Sri Lanka in June-July, where he played two matches, and attended the Under-19 High Performance Camp at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

He has also had the chance to work with former India fast bowler VRV Singh, India’s Under-19 bowling coach. Ishan says Singh’s backing and the time spent working with him have been valuable.

“Our bowling coach VRV Singh has been backing me a lot. We had two sessions, which helped me a lot,” Ishan said during the tournament.

The confidence from Punjab’s Vinoo Mankad Trophy triumph has carried into the Asia Cup as well. Asked about the impact of winning an Under-19 tournament, Ishan acknowledged its importance.

“Yes, winning an U19 tournament helps you with confidence,” he said.

Another family member has helped keep the journey on course. Ishan’s elder brother, now 21, has taken over much of the responsibility of managing the family’s travel agency. He also helps with household affairs and often accompanies Ishan to gym sessions, physiotherapy and bowling practice.

MATURE, FAST LEARNER

Ishan has been noticed well beyond the family, by the Centre of Excellence and the selectors. In Punjab, Sandeep Sawal, coach of Amritsar Soormas in the inaugural Sher-e-Punjab T20 league, had watched Ishan in state-level tournaments over the years and liked what he saw: a tall fast bowler who already understood his craft.

When the league auction came up, Ishan was injured. Sawal backed the youngster anyway. The opportunity that followed let Ishan spend time at Soormas with the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Naman Dhir.

Sawal has followed Ishan’s development since, and believes there is more to him than the physical attributes. What impresses him most is the youngster’s ability to read conditions and make adjustments.

“He understands line and length and knows what to bowl in different situations. He reads the pitch well. Even on slower surfaces, he knows when to use cutters. He understands field placements and has a good sense of the game,” Sawal tells IndiaToday.in.

Sawal likes what he has seen of Ishan's bowling, but believes the youngster still has work to do on the physical front.

“He has to keep playing, build muscle and improve his fitness. There is also scope to work on his bowling action and increase his pace,” he says.

Even now, Dheeraj remains closely involved in Ishan’s training. They continue to watch videos, discuss bowling techniques and look for ways to improve. The routine that began in Morinda has not changed much, even as Ishan has moved on to the India Under-19 team.

Dheeraj’s ambitions for his son are not restricted to limited-overs cricket either. If anything, he says, Ishan is drawn to the longest format.

“The real joy of cricket lies in watching Test matches. True cricket lovers enjoy Test cricket, and Ishan loves playing it,” he says.

The boy Dheeraj took to the nets in Morinda is now troubling batters at the Under-19 Asia Cup.

- Ends