"If I tell you coaches could create Mohammed Shami, I would be lying" - Paras Mhambrey on Shami's meteoric rise

Team India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey is mesmerized with the way Mohammed Shami has performed across formats for the national team. Shami ended up as the leading wicket-taker of the 2023 World Cup, picking up a staggering 24 scalps in just seven games.

The veteran pacer has earned massive plaudits for his ability to land the ball on the seam almost every single time and move it both ways. Mhambrey doesn't want to take any credit for Shami's success as he feels that it is all due to the pacer's hard work.

Speaking to PTI, here's what Paras Mhambrey had to say about Mohammed Shami:

"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 also touched upon how the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and others alongside Shami have made India a force to reckon with in the bowling department. On this, he said:

"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 on the importance of bench strength

Paras Mhambrey also talked about the goals that head coach Rahul Dravid and others in his coaching staff had set a couple of years ago. He believes the bench strength, especially in the bowling department, was an area of priority for the Indian team management.

On this, 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."

India's pace attack will be one of their big hopes as they attempt to win their maiden Test series on South African soil in a few weeks.