Paras Mhambrey, former bowling coach for India until the T20 World Cup, has raised concerns over the challenges faced by India’s young bowlers in maintaining their careers amidst competitive cricket. During his tenure, working closely with head coach Rahul Dravid, Mhambrey played a pivotal role in nurturing talents like Umran Malik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and Shivam Mavi.
However, he expressed disappointment that these promising talents have struggled to sustain their momentum. Umran Malik, despite showing promise during IPL 2022 and making appearances for India in ODIs and T20Is, has seen his career stagnate. Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, groomed initially by KKR but with limited opportunities in other franchises, have also faced setbacks. Nagarkoti’s last competitive match was in IPL 2022, while Mavi missed IPL 2024 due to injury after being signed by Gujarat Titans.
Mhambrey highlighted the importance of playing domestic cricket in a structured environment, suggesting that Malik might benefit from competing in a state with a more robust setup than Jammu & Kashmir. He attributed injuries as a significant factor hindering their progress and emphasized the need for careful management to prevent derailment of promising careers.
“I won’t say disappointed, but someone like Umran (Malik). We need to guide him. He needs to play for a state which has proper structure. Unfortunately, he is playing for a state where there is no proper structure. Playing for a state with a proper structure, playing a lot of cricket will definitely help him. We need someone to make that call for him and make sure that he plays for a state where he plays a lot of cricket. He has the potential, a quick guy who can bowl in the mid-140s. consistently, but someone to guide him at this stage and saying, okay, fine, just play cricket and how do we take this, take his game forward,” Mhambrey told Sportstar.
Bowlers Have Been Over-Bowled: Paras Mhambrey
He further talked about the young Indian pacers Nagarkoti and Mavi, saying injuries have played a big part in limiting their international careers.
“Others like (Kamlesh) Nagarkoti and (Shivam) Mavi have been lost in all this and maybe overlooked by the associations or over-bowled by the associations. Over-bowled is perhaps the right word, and that’s a little concern because a lot of these guys, when they come into the India team, are really burned by their state teams. So we have to be a little smart with them,” the 52-year-old added.
During his tenure as India’s bowling coach, Paras Mhambrey played a significant role in grooming several young Indian pacers, including Umran Malik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, and Shivam Mavi. However, their progress was hampered by frequent injury issues, limiting their opportunities on the international stage.
Meanwhile, under Mhambrey’s guidance, bowlers like Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Mukesh Kumar made their successful international debuts, showcasing notable performances. He also contributed to the development of established stars such as Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj, who formed a formidable bowling trio for India.
Recently, Gautam Gambhir, India’s newly-appointed coach, has appointed former South African pacer Morne Morkel as the team’s new bowling coach. Morkel brings prior coaching experience from his tenure with Pakistan during the ODI World Cup 2023, adding a wealth of international expertise to the Indian coaching setup.
