Newly-appointed India A bowling coach Paras Mhambrey is from the school of thought that encourages pacers to bowl fast even if they end up leaking runs on an odd occasion.
Mhambrey is helping the likes of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav ahead of the second unofficial 'Test' against Australia A beginning here on Wednesday. However, the centre of attraction will be India Test captain Virat Kohli, who has chosen to warm-up in the First-Class game ahead of the Sri Lanka tour starting next month.
"Obviously, Virat will have some plans (for the game)," said Mhambrey in an interaction on Monday. Asked about his thoughts on the mindset and management of the pace bowlers, Mhambrey had plenty to point out.
"The way I see is that, these are your strike bowlers.
You have two young fast bowlers (Aaron and Yadav) who are touching 140 and beyond that. But for us, here in this game, you use them as strike bowlers. They are wicket-taking bowlers for you. At times, they will go for runs.
But as long as they come in and do the job required, that is to bowl fast and pick wickets, as a captain out here, I think he will be happy," said the former India pacer.
India ODI captain MS Dhoni of late has been critical of too much emphasis on bowling fast while Kohli prefers playing with an express pace battery.
Asked about handling the workload of the pacers, Mhambrey said, "Injury management is an important issue. How do you manage the resources that you have. These guys play a lot of cricket. It is the management part that we need to look in.
These guys are not medium pacers. They have a lot of stress on body. Maybe a year down the line, I think when you work on certain things. You make those minor adjustments and it will take some time to work for you. Maybe six months down the line," said the former Mumbai cricketer.
Mhambrey, who has coached multiple state teams, was appointed two weeks ago with India A coach Rahul Dravid's backing.
"I am very happy and pleased to be out here. It gives you an opportunity to work with Rahul. We have been playing together. So it is basically in a series like this, it is more about the mental aspects. It is more about the preparation for the game. What kind of lines we are going to bowl, what kind of lengths, at what situations we hold back, and in what situations we attack. Maybe a short while. But it s good to be working with the talent we have right now, it s the bench strength for us, and if I can contribute in any manner, I ll be more than happy."
