Jason Gillespie believes Ishant Sharma could test England, helped by time spent with Sussex.

And he has not ruled out a Hove return by the India pace bowler next season.

Sharma is preparing for day one of what looks a cracking Test series against England.

Sussex coach Gillespie believes he could be a notable player in the five-part contest which starts at Edgbaston tomorrow.

He certainly knows in what areas Ishant needs to excel if he is to cause England major problems.

The pair worked together early in the season when Ishant played four Championship matches and six one-dayers for Sussex.

Hired to cover the absences of IPL duo Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan, Sharma settled so well it is understood there was talk behind the scenes of him possibly returning next season.

Gillespie told The Argus: “I think Ishant is a fine bowler. He is a bit different to most right-armers.

“He brings the ball back into the right-hander which is not that common as a stock ball.

“For me, for Ishant to be most effective here in the UK with the Duke ball, he has to ensure he gets his line and length right.

“Sometimes he can bowl a little bit short and a little bit wide and not challenge the batsman’s front foot defence.

“When I have seen him bowl at his best he has bowled that length that gets batsmen looking to get on the front foot and play a defensive shot and then, with a little bit of scoreboard pressure, look to play positive shots.

“If he gets that length right and get those lines right, he can be quite effective.

“Early in the season, the Duke ball does more than other cricket balls around the world.

“The key to bowling in the UK is the length. We see a lot of bowlers fall into the trap of bowling too short and possibly not challenging the stumps enough. I think that will be Ishant’s biggest challenge.

“If he can keep the stumps in play as much as possible and look to hit that off stump as often as he can around bail height, I think he can be quite effective.”

Sussex will almost certainly lose Archer to the IPL again next year and he could even find himself in the England set-up at some stage.

A return for Sharma would speak volumes for how he enjoyed his time at Hove this season.

The fast bowler is a hero back in India, living a celebrity lifestyle with all its advantages and inconveniences.

Gillespie said: “I am sure he would be open to come back. I think he quite enjoyed it here.

“He quite enjoyed the anonymity of being in Hove and being able to walk the streets and go and dine at nice places.

“He is such a high-profile character in his home country so he doesn’t get the opportunity to do that every often.

“I know his wife really enjoyed it here when she joined him.

“We will look at our squad going into next summer and what we need.

“It will depend on the schedule as well.

“Will we need him? Who are we going to be missing?”

“These are all the questions we don’t have an answer to at this stage so just have to wait and see.”