The India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey spoke of the next set of pacers are the first-choice trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj, saying that the management has identified “at least 3-5 bowlers” as backup seamers whenever needed.
While Shami, Bumrah, and Siraj remain the first-choice pace attack, possibly across formats, for India, the management and coaching staff of head coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey have regularly given opportunities to fringe pacers whenever the three senior guys have been rested or injured.
In fact, India had gone into last year’s T20 World Cup without Bumrah and Siraj with Arshdeep Singh admirably leading the pace attack alongside Bhuvneshwar.
Recently, in the T20I series against Australia, India rested the three pacers and the likes of Arshdeep, Prasidh, Avesh, Mukesh Kumar, and Deepak Chahar did well to win the series 4-1.
When asked whether India have the bench strength in pace bowling department after Bumrah and Shami, Paras Mhambrey confidently spoke of the fringe pacers.
“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 told PTI in an interview.
Many would be envy of Shami and Bumrah’s success: Paras Mhambrey
Shami and Bumrah were perhaps the two best fast bowlers in the World Cup 2023. Shami took 24 wickets and Bumrah took 20, both dominating across the three phases of the game. They even took the first three wickets of Australia in the final, but others couldn’t capitalize.
Mhambrey hailed the duo for their success over the years, which includes Test series win in Australia, and Test match wins in other overseas countries.
“The way Shami and Bumrah have managed to dominate the batters around the world is something that has surprised Mhambrey. Many would be envy of their success,” Mhambrey added.
