India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey talks about Mohammed Shami's incredible improvement

India's premier bowler, Mohammed Shami, emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the ODI World Cup, securing 24 wickets across seven matches. Despite this success, India's bowling coach, Paras Mhambrey, known for his reserved demeanour in the coaching setup, avoids taking credit for Shami's achievements.

Mhambrey expressed awe at Shami's extraordinary bowling skills during the World Cup, emphasising that no coach possesses the ability to replicate a bowler like Shami. He highlighted Shami's distinctive talent for landing the ball on an upright seam, setting him apart from his competitors.

"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 an upright seam every time then every other bowler in the world will be Shami. It is a skill that Shami has acquired with tremendous hard work 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 way is a rare skill set.” Mhambrey was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

This is an art and a lot of hard work: Paras Mhambrey

Mhambrey also praised Jasprit Bumrah's unique skills and emphasised the artistry and dedication behind his consistent performance. Reflecting on Bumrah, Shami and Ishant Sharma’s unexpected dominance in Test cricket, he acknowledged the strategic focus on cultivating bench strength in all formats during his tenure. Collaborating with Rahul Dravid, Vicky Rathour, and T Dilip, they identified and nurtured the next generation of bowlers to ensure readiness for international challenges.

"Even Bumrah with his unusual action gets the ball to move in or away with the same action. This is an art and a 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." he said.

"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 the 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." he added.