Paras Mhambrey was an integral part of the Indian coaching staff that played a crucial role in ending the nation’s 11-year wait for an ICC title. Hindustan Times caught up with the former India bowling coach, who has finally managed some family time after being on the road for three years. Mhambrey shared his experience of working with Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, his thoughts on why Jasprit Bumrah is a born leader, the evolution of Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj, the bench strength of the Indian fast bowling unit and more…
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Has the T20 World Cup victory sunk in yet?
It took a little while. It happens once in your career, a once-in-a-lifetime moment. We couldn’t leave the Caribbean because of the cyclone for the first few days (after the T20 World Cup win). When we finally travelled back home, the first thing was the meeting with the PM. Then, the kind of reception we got in Mumbai was unimaginable. It showed us what the Cup really meant for the nation. This win was for all of us.
What worked for India in this World Cup?
In terms of the preparation, I thought we were spot on. There was a lot of thought process behind it. I would take you a little back, maybe T20 World Cup in Australia (in 2022). The way things ended there in the semi-finals was obviously not pleasing. That was a heartbreaker for us. Things changed from then on. Everyone in the team, the support staff, Rahul (Dravid), Vicky (Vikram Rathour), Rohit (Sharma), myself, and, you know, some of the senior guys saying, what is the way we want to go ahead? What is our way ahead from here? What do we need to do differently? We’ve been very consistent throughout the years. Reaching the semi-finals, the finals. So that shows that we are playing good cricket. But we needed to do something differently to make sure that we get our hands on that ICC trophy that has eluded us for a long time.
It’s just the way people rose to the challenge saying that this is the way we want to go ahead and obviously then have everyone on board to believe that this is the right way for us was heartening. Unless and until, you have each and every individual in that dressing room on the same page (It’s difficult)… Every individual got the backing of the head coach and the captain. You need to take risks in this format. If you don’t do that, you struggle. But there’s always a chance that it may not come off. But if you have the backing from the captain and the coach, you go out there fearlessly and play that game. I think that complete backing from Rahul and Rohit really made the difference.
What did the dressing room feel when SA needed 30 off 30 in the final with Miller and Klaasen still batting?
I’d be lying if I say we were confident about winning the game (from that situation). When you have a game hanging where you have 30 balls, 30 to get, with six wickets in hand. And with one of the world’s top T20 batters, Heinrich Klaasen batting, you can’t help but worry. The quality of the shots that he played was so impactful. We thought if this guy bats for 12 or 15 more balls, this game would completely go away from us. We were a little nervous. We desperately felt the need for Klaasen’s wicket. Miller was there but that would open one end up. We knew they didn’t have enough depth in their batting. When Hardik Pandya bowled that one one, Klaasen thought there was four written all over it, but got an outside edge. That made Miller the one army. Credit to Rohit and the bowlers for handling the pressure.
