Men’s Cricket WC: No plans for rotation, Shami, Ashwin unlucky to be left out, says bowling coach Mhambrey

Pune, Oct 18 (IANS) Winning three out of three and facing a comparatively weaker opponent in Bangladesh, a lot of people thought that India would try and rotate its squad in Thursday’s ICC Men’s ODI World Cup encounter to prepare the entire squad for tougher battles ahead.

But the Indian team’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said the team management has no such plans and will go ahead with its policy of choosing the best side fit for the surface in Thursday’s match.

India has gone ahead with pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur in the last match with Hardik Pandya as the pace-bowling all-rounder. In the spin department, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have played all three matches while senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got to play only the opening match against Australia.

The result is that a bowler of the calibre of Mohammed Shami has not got a chance so far.

Mhambrey said it has been a difficult decision to leave out bowlers like Shami and Ashwin, but they will stick to the policy of picking what they think is the best possible side for that surface.

“Yeah, I think it’s important to maintain this start really. So as of now, there is no discussion of kind of rotation from our point of view. I think it is important to carry this momentum for the next game as well. No thought as such,” Mhambrey said in the pre-match press conference ahead of India’s clash with Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Wednesday.

He said it is never an easy decision to make to leave out bowlers like Shami and Ashwin.

“See, honestly, it is never an easy decision. But I think the conversations are around, we had a clear chat with him. Whenever we select a squad, the messages from us is very clear. That we pick a squad we feel is the best for that wicket. And I think sometimes you will miss out. Someone like him is missing out, someone like Ash (Ashwin) will miss out. And I think that’s the communication that we have with him, we are very clear. Difficult decision, honestly, even with the quality that he brings to the team, new ball, death, it is difficult to make that decision. But you have to take that decision, you only have eleven on the field,” he added.

Mhambrey, however, was quite happy to have his full bowling unit in action following his return from injury by Bumrah. Mhambrey had to do a lot of juggling with the bowling unit because of injuries and did not have his full bowling unit for most matches in the last two years.

He is especially happy to have Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav back to their best.

“Ask me about it man. It has been tough. I thought the last few years, a couple of years, it has been really tough. It is tough to miss someone like Bumrah. You have seen him in the last three games that he has played. What he brings to the table — he is a world-class bowler. He gives you that breakthrough that you require in the power plays. He’s well adapted to bowl in the middle overs and he’s a top gun death over bowler.

“I think in that sense, we really missed him. Glad that he’s shaping well. And I think we must credit the staff back at the NCA, the medical department, the physios out there, and out here as well. And they really worked hard behind the scenes for the last few years, from where he was and to get him out here. So, credit goes to them as well,” the India bowling coach said.

“With Kuldeep, obviously, the last few years, he’s worked on certain things. We’ve worked with him on certain things in terms of his bowling, and his action, and you can translate that in the way he’s bowled. His speeds have gone up. His accuracy is up there, hitting those lengths consistently. And I think he really complements in between. That’s a wicket-taking option as well. He is a wicket-taking option for us. And he’s done that,

“So, in combination, both, I think gun bowlers for us,” said Mhambrey.

Mhambrey said in the case of Kuldeep, he had to work on the mental aspect a lot because the spinner was going through a lot till a few months back.

“But, other than the technical aspect, your mental aspect is important. It’s important to be in the right frame of mind, in the right space, if I feel when you’re playing every game. And that’s something we worked on. It’s a combination. He’s understood where we come from, and what are the areas we need to improve and I think you need to give credit to him, even after that he played so much long -he played a fair bit of international cricket prior to that.

“But to understand to why we are saying certain things and work on it. I think you compliment him. That’s important. He’s worked on it. We are there to help him and he’s taken the help,” said Mhambrey.

Mhambrey agreed that in the absence of a rotation policy, it was difficult to leave out a bowler like Ravichandran Ashwin.

“Yeah, it’s a really tough one I think when you have a world-class bowler within amongst your 15 and unable to – we don’t get an opportunity to give him a great game.

“So having someone like that, a team guy in a team really helps. And I think credit goes to him. Even after so many years, I think he’s there, he wants to do well for the team, he turns up every practice session, goes through the rigorous grinds and he keeps bowling. So, I think he’s a great team man and I must compliment that,” he added.

–IANS

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