‘First thing is acceptance’ - Paras Mhambrey reveals how he coped with Bumrah’s absence in his tenure

The tenure of Paras Mhambrey, the former bowling coach of the Indian team, came to an end after the T20 World Cup 2024. The 52-year-old became a part of India’s coaching staff when former India batter Rahul Dravid became India’s head coach in November 2021.

Since 2021, Mhambrey has overseen team India in several major tournaments. From the 2022 T20 World Cup to the ODI World Cup 2023, the bowling coach put in his best efforts to get the most out of India’s bowling attack. 

It is worth noting that during a major part of Mhambrey’s tenure as bowling coach, he missed the services of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah due to injury. Recently, he came forward to talk about how he coped with Bumrah’s absence. 

“First thing is acceptance. We accepted he wasn’t going to be around. Of course, we were monitoring all that he was doing and co-ordination with the NCA was really commendable. He came in and again got injured… and it was definitely not easy because we were looking at him for the WTC final, where conditions were just apt for him,” Mhambrey said in an interview with Venkata Krishna B.

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It could have been a different story altogether if he was available: Mhambrey

Furthermore, Paras Mhambrey opined that Bumrah’s absence helped the Indian team develop someone like Mohammed Siraj. He revealed that it was good to see competition within the bowlers of the side. 

“It could have been a different story altogether if he was available. But we knew how long he would be out and we had the World Cup around the corner. We had a clear pathway and it was to gradually get him back into the fold by starting with T20s. Simultaneously, it allowed us to develop someone like Siraj. He took the responsibility and took charge of the attack. It was good to see some competition,” Mhambrey said.