Paras Mhambrey, Team India’s bowling coach, was blown away by Mohammed Shami’s performance for the national team across all forms. Shami finished the 2023 World Cup as the highest wicket-taker, with 24 wickets in just seven games.
The seasoned bowler has garnered immense praise for his near-perfect ability to place the ball on the seam and move it in both directions. Since he believed that Shami’s achievement was entirely the result of the pacer’s labor, Paras Mhambrey refused to accept any credit for it.
Here’s what Paras Mhambrey had to say about Mohammed Shami in an interview with PTI:
“Well, if I tell you that coaches could create a bowler like Shami, then I would be lying. If a bowler can land it on upright seam every time then every other bowler in the world will be Shami.
“It is a skill that Shami has acquired with tremendous hardwork and developed himself into the bowler that he is. Bowling ball after ball on the seam and with that perfect wrist position and getting it to move either ways is a rare skill set.”
Paras Mhambrey
Paras Mhambrey also mentioned how the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and others, along with Shami, have helped India become a bowling powerhouse to be reckoned with. He went on to say:
“Even Bumrah with his unusual action gets the ball to move in or away with same action. This is an art and lot of hard work and dedication goes into perfecting the art. I think in Test matches, we had Bumrah, Shami and Ishant (Sharma), who created this kind of magic but frankly speaking, if you ask me now if I would have expected this kind of dominance, I wouldn’t have dreamt of this level of performance.”
Paras Mhambrey
Paras Mhambrey Explains Why Bench Strength Matters for Indian Cricket
Paras Mhambrey mentioned the targets established by head coach Rahul Dravid and his coaching team a few years back. He feels that the Indian team management prioritized bench strength, particularly in the bowling department.
In response, he stated:
“When we took over, we needed to see that two years down the line, we have also created a sufficient bench strength in every format. We had to identify at least 3-5 bowlers from next batch and also ensure that they get enough game time and are ready for the challenges of international cricket. Rahul, Vicky (Rathour), myself and (T) Dilip got together and identified the bowlers.”
Paras Mhambrey
In a few weeks, India’s pace attack will be one of their main hopes in another bid to win their maiden Test series on South African soil.
