OPINION
Follow UsIn the last five years, India’s stocks in the fast-bowling unit have skyrocketed, they have fast evolved from being hailed as slow-track burners to all-condition masters. A major portion of the success could be attributed to the work done by Bharat Arun, whose tutelage not only oversaw a transition in the bowling attack but also saw chockful of aggression.
Under Arun, India went from dominating just home conditions to acing all kind of match-ups in a period that lasted seven years, inspiring a new generation. The focus was on three keywords – pace, aggression and relentlessness. It's what he left behind, a legacy, a bowling unit that has the confidence to not just wither and survive, but to thrive.
With his term coming to an end after the disastrous T20 World Cup, the focus shifted towards Paras Mhambrey, a natural successor to Arun, with U-19 stints and a long period of work in the National Cricket Academy, going toe-to-toe with Arun in writing another successful chapter for Indian cricket.
The first of the India's overseas success came on a lifeless MCG pitch, where every ball that was bowled had a batter's name on it. Sticking true to Ravi Shastri’s words, the away side put the ‘pitch-talks’ aside and made a stellar remark.
Like Arun, Mhambrey comes with a ton of knowledge, not necessarily Indian caps. He knows the current crop of bowlers well, he has an in-depth information on the upcoming lot and understands the mentality of fast bowling like no other in the country.
With India's fast bowling prowess reaching its pinnacle, the question was whether they could maintain the same intensity that was forged under Arun's coaching. Mhambrey fits in perfectly.
Mhambrey’s head-start
At NCA, one of the key things that the former Mumbai pacer had to do was notice the bowlers from close quarters across several camps. From thereon, shortlist the players based on their abilities, to two national month-long camps of 25 cricketers in total. Unlike previous generations, the emphasis wasn’t just on winning trophies, rather building an ecosystem.
Unlike the early 2000s, words such ‘system’ ‘structures,’ ‘depth’, are often used to describe Indian cricket. The reality is that the talent pool remains endless. Mhambrey knows it the best. But now as the bowling coach of the Indian national team, his role has been upgraded although the task remains the same: to oversee the growth in the Indian bowling unit.
His first rough task: the tour to South Africa, a country where India have had barren success in the past, a country that has given the Indian fans plenty of nightmares. One of those hostile conditions where India haven’t quite been able to unleash their spinners.
"When you are playing A teams and international-quality players, you aren't going to get away with that,” said Mhambrey in a conversation with ESPNCricinfo.
“You will be punished. So I think that helps you as a bowler: you know you have to be on top of your game, every time, every spell, every ball that you bowl. And that's what you see right now with the younger lot - you see very few bad balls in domestic cricket as well,” he added.
Challenges ahead for Mhambrey
While the rewards are plenty, the challenges for Mhambrey in building the future of the Indian bowling is a steep one. Two out of the four Indian lead pacers – Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav – are on the wrong side of the 30s. Mohammed Shami’s issues with injuries and his inconsistencies with the red-ball are well noted.
Luckily for Mhambrey, overseeing the responsibility of bowlers’ development at the NCA, he already has an eye on the players that are on the verge of Indian selection. Be it Prasidh Krishna, who has made a tall claim in the recent past, be it the hard-working Sandeep Warrier, who has endlessly given it all for the ‘A’ team or be it Ishan Porel, who has wrecked several batting units.
His immediate focus will be on attaining success in South Africa, but the vision would be to find natural successors to the already existing group of pacers. As MSK Prasad, previously India’s Chairman of selector, Mhambrey alongside Arun have been “excellent at sorting out the technical and tactical aspects.”
Alongside managing the workload of the pace attack, the Mumbaikar also needs to place a balance between overburdening the seniors and overawing the juniors with opportunities.
“We have kind of reached a point where we need specialist pacers for formats. We will be happy to lay a path maybe not for all three formats, but two formats to start with,” Mhambrey said earlier.
During his stint with the NCA, the 49-year-old had an early taste of the ‘workload’ medicine, when Mohammed Siraj was at his peak with the ‘A’ team. So, it is only fitting that he takes over from Arun for overseeing the future of the dynasty that the Hyderabad-man built.
"We did this a couple of years back when Siraj had picked 60-70 wickets for the A (India A team). He had a fabulous year with us. Definitely, the workload had gone up. Everyone was apprehensive -- like we can't push him so much even though he was winning games. In the player's interest, it was decided that we give him a break. In one of the series, in one of the games, we gave him a break," added Mhambrey.
And in regards with the youngsters, Mhambrey during the series against Sri Lanka said that he is happy with the ‘pool of bowlers’ that he has under his belt.
The Mumbaikar has the distinction and aura around him to take the Indian bowling unit forward. South Africa will be the starting point.