It's not very easy to drop someone like Mohammed Shami: India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey

India are the only unbeaten team in the ongoing edition of the Asia Cup. They have registered wins against Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in the six-team tournament thus far and have made it to the final. The Indian team management has decided to keep ace speedster Mohammed Shami on the bench as they have opted to go in with only two frontline seamers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

The 'Men in Blue' have played Axar Patel in their most recent match against Sri Lanka and Shardul Thakur in the games preceding that. India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said that they are happy with how Bumrah has recovered from his injury, and also stated that dropping the experienced Shami from the playing XI was a very tough call.

“We have been following Bumrah's progress from the NCA, and we are very happy with the report that we have got. Now, we have four quality bowlers, and it is always great to have those options. The problem of plenty is always good,” Mhambrey was quoted as saying by India Today ahead of India's final Super Four match against Bangladesh on Friday.

“It's not very easy to drop someone like Shami. The experience that he has and the performance that he has done for the country is phenomenal. It's never easy to have that kind of a conversation (dropping a player),” he continued.

Players know any decision we take they know that it is for the benefit of the team: Mhambrey

However, the 51-year-old stated that Mohammed Shami has been conveyed the reason behind his exclusion and the player has also understood that it is in the best interest of the team.

“But we are clear in the way we have gone about the conversation with the players and they have shown confidence in us. Players know any decision that we take and they know that it is for the benefit of the team,” Mhambrey concluded.

Shami has played 91 ODIs for India thus far and picked up 163 wickets at an average of 26.01 and a strike rate of 27.90. He played in the match against Nepal when Bumrah went back home to attend the birth of his first child. The 33-year-old picked up a wicket and conceded 29 runs in his seven overs.