Hyderabad: India is known to produce some world-class batters but former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has busted the myth. The former India right-handed speedster reckons that when he started coaching junior cricketers, the idea was to create bench strength and it paid dividends as the country now has a substantial pool of fast bowlers.
Paras was the bowling coach of the Indian Cricket team that won the T20 World Cup 2024, which was co-hosted by the United States and West Indies. The 52-year-old Mhambrey, who represented Mumbai in the domestic circuit, in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, said, "Happy the way whatever the talent you have seen as a bench strength. Ideally, when we took on (coaching) junior cricket, the idea was to create a bench strength from the perspective of the spinners and fast bowlers combined."
"And, over the period, I have seen a lot of players go on to represent (the country). So, there is a lot of talent available. Avesh (Khan), Khaleel Ahmed, Arsh (Arshdeep Singh) coming through. (There was) the experience of (Mohammed) Shami, Ishant (Sharma) and Umesh (Yadav) as well and (Jasprit) Bumrah. So, I think there's a bench strength. I was very excited about the new talent coming in. Maybe someone like Mayank (Yadav), Mohsin Khan, and a lot of other guys are around. Harshit Rana is someone, Kuldeep (Sen), all of these guys have created a bench strength and I think that's the way coaching is about," elaborated Mhambrey, who played 2 Tests and 3 ODIs for India.
"Give them opportunities, test them under pressure and different match scenarios and conditions to build them strong and make them good players. Hence it's important to allow players to showcase their talent. The challenge was to ensure that the balance between obviously winning also matters but also the larger the part is making sure side by side your bench strength improves," quipped Mhambrey, who has also coached India U-19 and was associated with the Bengaluru-based National Cricket Academy (NCA).
On the 2024 T20 World Cup win:
Mhambrey also feels that ending his tenure with the Men in Blue was a special moment.
"It's not the best, but yes it's one of the best moments. As a coach, a journey is a lot more than just winning it. Obviously, winning a World Cup is special, but the whole journey has been great so far, very fruitful, and satisfying," he quipped.
"Because we were able to contribute in terms of the development of players as well. As a coach, the larger picture is making sure that the individual develops, goes forward and from the junior level moves on to the next level, which is the A (team). Finally that individual moves on to represent the country, and then does well for the country. So, it's a lot more than just a win. Just finishing my tenure with a World Cup win is something special," added Mhambrey, who picked 284 wickets from 91 first-class matches.
On Arshdeep Singh
He also heaped praise on India left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who played a pivotal role in the country lifting the 2024 T20 World Cup. The former bowling coach was effusive in praise for the skills of the rising Punjab speedster.
"My Association with Arsh (Arshdeep Singh) was from U-19 days. The first time I saw in 2018 when he was part of the U-19 World Cup team that we won. I have often been interacting with him from there on and then (he) moved on to represent the state," he added.
"There was a period that I was not in touch or contact with him. On, and Off, not regularly. But I remember one of his IPL games, it was his first year in the IPL and when he got selected I was so happy. From then on I constantly followed his progress and was in touch with him. I or everyone else could have seen his growth from there on," added Mhambrey.
Mhambrey listed out the reasons why Arshdeep, who has 79 wickets from 52 T20s is successful.
"He bowls in two of the toughest phases of the game. He bowls with a new ball and then comes back into the death and always feels that constantly being under pressure in those phases. I think his economy is around eight and I think that's fabulous. He is constantly bowling there (in those phases) for the country. So definitely it speaks about skills, execution ability and clarity. When he bowls, I had a conversation with him, when he bowls in the nets, in the match he has great clarity about his skills. That is why he is successful," he added.
After spending two decades on the roads with various teams, Mhambrey now wants to spend quality time with his family but assures that he will continue to contribute to the game he loves.
