Johannesburg, Sept. 20: At 21, Ishant Sharma is more in love with the pace he generates than he is worried by the prospect of missing out on wickets. And he has many illustrious predecessors when it comes to this way of looking at things, when the sheer joy of generating pace was bigger reward than the scalps it generated.

Nearly every great fast bowler began as a tearaway. Be it an Imran Khan, or a Kapil Dev, a Richard Hadlee or a Glenn McGrath, every one of them at age 20 or 21 would have happily exchanged a wicket for the sheer thrill of hearing the ball crash into the bat or thud into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.

In each case, all that changed with age, but the passion of youth was best served by bending every sinew in the body to send the ball hurtling at the batsman as quickly as was possible.

And so when Ishant says, "In Sri Lanka, I tried to bowl fast. Yes, I erred in length, but I will never compromise on speed," you have to nod your head in understanding.

At the same time, this a young man who has already seen his fair share of action, from the highs of his first overseas tour to Australia to the current rut he seems to be trapped in. "I was just 19 when I broke into the national team, wide-eyed and awestruck… I can say I’m definitely wiser now," he said.

"People say I’m a genuine fast bowler, perhaps the first to come out from India. I don’t know how true is that, because we have produced great, great bowlers, but I’m very proud of being tagged ‘fast’. I’m not going to give it up ever.

"My pace drops at times. I was bowling around 135 km in Sri Lanka, but if anyone begins calling me fast medium, that would be incorrect. See, I’m not a swing bowler. I hit the deck and depend on the movement off the surface. On extremely slow pitches, the ball doesn’t jag back that quickly."

So how does the prospect of losing out on the hard new cherry and being used as first change sit with his philosophy? India are increasingly looking at the lanky Ishant to bowl behind the openers in limited overs cricket at least, and he is doing his bit by the squad and its tactics and planning.

"I used to think the new ball is a ultimate compliment for a fast bowler. (Coach Gary) Kirsten and skipper Dhoni sat me down and explained me the importance of bowling first change. That was something I had to learn. They told me that if I wanted to become a complete bowler, I should learn to bowl in every phase."

So how much has changed in his time as an India cricketer? "Early in career, I never thought bouncer was needed. How wrong I was! I am working towards developing a bouncer. Wait and watch," he exclaims before bounding off to rejoin his teammates.