ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 26, 2022

Paras Mhambrey

Sydney Cricket Ground

India

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Yesterday in the practice session we saw the three pacers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep and Shami did not come and even Hardik Pandya. Everything all good with the team?

PARAS MHAMBREY: All good with the team. I think it's just an optional practice session we had, and that's the reason they didn't turn up. Just before the game we always leave it up to the bowlers how much they want to work, but that's fine. All good with the team.

Q. Paras, just after this game, it's certainly a quick turnaround to Perth, two days, five-hour travel and time zones. Has that all been considered coming into the tournament, especially in terms of fast bowlers?

PARAS MHAMBREY: Yeah, I think you've got to take care of them. I think we're pretty thought out in terms of the planning, how we want to go about it, and I think from here on, every session that we have left is an optional one, so in terms of the maintenance, in terms of the physiotherapy, taking care of them, it's important to have them in the best shape going into every game, and yeah, we're taking care of that, as well.

Q. Paras, Hardik, that day he was suffering from the cramps. Is he all right? Is he fit to play?

PARAS MHAMBREY: Yeah, he is. He's all right.

Q. Considerations to rest him maybe?

PARAS MHAMBREY: No, none.

Q. This is more Shami specific: We all know he was the 11th inclusion to the team, the circumstances also we know. What all did you do, have to do with him as a bowling coach to get him ready just coming back from COVID-19, and also how would you sum up his four-over spell in the first match?

PARAS MHAMBREY: I think it started when he went to the NCA. We wanted to have a look at how he felt, what shape he was in. He put in the loads, the numbers there, and whatever feedback we got, we were pretty happy about it.

Look, in his case, he's a very experienced, very seasoned bowler. You know what you're going to get from him, that was sure, but the important bit was how he turned up after the COVID, and we were pretty happy with the recovery. At the NCA, whatever feedback, whatever reports we got, we were pretty happy about it.

He was in good frame, good space. Whatever discussion that we had, he was looking forward to this tournament and started with the first over that he bowled in Australia. He looked in great rhythm, and I think that also gave us the confidence of knowing what you're going to get from Shami. But he's a champion bowler, no doubt.

Q. About Arshdeep Singh, the last match against Pakistan before the World Cup he was given the flag for not catching the ball -- first ball of the World Cup, he got a wicket. Talk about the rise or the growth of Arshdeep Singh.

PARAS MHAMBREY: Well, if you've followed him for the last couple years, been looking at the way he's performed, I think the one thing really stands out with that kid is his ability to handle pressure. He does hard work in the IPL. He does two different phases in the format he bowls; that is the first powerplay and the death overs.

The composure he's shown, the clarity of thought process that he's shown, he's a great kid. I think this is the fate that he'll go through. There will be ups and downs in his career, but the way he's come back, the quality he's shown with the way he's come back and the ability to handle pressure is phenomenal, and I think I'm not really surprised the way he's bowled in the first game, as well.

So we have a lot of confidence in him, and he has a good future for us.

Q. Paras, this is quite early in the Australian season to be playing T20 internationals. We've seen quite a lot of help for the fast bowlers; we saw it at the MCG. What's your general view on the impact the quick bowlers will have as we go through this tournament?

PARAS MHAMBREY: It's going to be challenging. I think from the batting perspective, you saw in the last game, we expected it to do a little bit, but didn't really expect it to do as much as what we thought in the game.

The initial phase, the first powerplay is going to be challenging, I think, from the bowler's perspective. But I'm happy. I think that gives an opportunity to get back in the game, take wickets for the bowling perspective.

It's going to be a challenge. It's good. But having said that, also you've got to be able to use the conditions, and the knowledge of the adaptability phase will come in. Different wickets will pose different challenges, and you have to be able to adapt to the length, the lines, depending on the conditions.

But yeah, you've got to be able to summarise how the wicket is.

Q. Starting from probably the middle point of the Asia Cup, there's been a lot of scrutiny on the end overs bowling from the Indian perspective. Without giving any secrets away, what's the kind of work you've done, and have you identified end overs specialists, or is it on the fly depending on how things work that day?

PARAS MHAMBREY: Obviously, I think the end overs has been -- not only for us, has been a challenge for other teams, as well, and if you look at other teams -- well, the last game itself, people have gone for runs.

We acknowledge that it's going to be a challenging phase. Yes, we have bowlers for it. We've prepared for it. And for us, we've identified those bowlers who are going to be our death specialists, as well.

Having said that, I think in this format you've got to be adaptable. You've got to be able to kind of have other options available in case required, so if not maybe seam bowlers, it might be spinners. I think you want to put in those challenges; you want to think differently at times.

But we have those bowlers. We have our plans sorted in that.

Q. Paras, Arshdeep, for example, has never bowled in Australia, and he comes in and he gets his lengths and lines like perfect. What kind of -- can you give us some insight into the kind of preparation that has gone into it, for somebody to just come in and just get it spot on?

PARAS MHAMBREY: It starts with a lot of discussion, obviously, in terms of he's the kind of guy who likes to talk a lot and he has a chat with the other senior guys, and I've seen him discussing a lot with Bhuvi and Shami, as well, because those guys have played out here.

So the kind of learning that he's taking, he's trying to implement that in a game. I'll give that credit to him, as well. Obviously having a chat and understanding what is required, but to be able to go out there and execute it and do it yourself as individual skills comes in. In that sense I give the credit to him.

Q. Paras, after a high-intensity, high-pressure game like Pakistan, what is it like to build up to the next game and the remaining games in the tournament?

PARAS MHAMBREY: You know, the discussion we always had was every game in a tournament like this is important. Yes, the first game we knew the hype around it. We knew it's always going to be a high intensity and big clash, but having such games done and dusted in the first phase itself, it's good.

Had this game been maybe in the third or fourth game would really sometimes take that effect on the following games, but having this game out of our group, it's good. Every game from here we knew in the World Cup is important. Every team that is part of this tournament has worked its way up, is important, has done something good, and that's the reason they're out here, and we take it like that. Every game we're going to focus on not the individuals but the team itself and that team on the given day. But one day at a time.

Q. Was any instruction given to Ashwin when he went out to bat?

PARAS MHAMBREY: I think it's the other way around. I think when it comes to Ashwin, I think he tells us this is what I'm going to do, so no. I think it's just the way he is, the individual. He shows so much composure out there, the presence of mind to actually leave that ball. If you look at it, any other individual at that stage would just swing his bat, but that's Ashwin for you. Top player.

Q. He has also talked about the cold conditions, the difficulty. How difficult were the conditions?

PARAS MHAMBREY: I think from the outset, they were more difficult. I guess everything was, and if you see others, the players are on the ground without their sweaters, but if you see the support staff sitting out there, we wanted more jumpers. But it was challenging. The conditions were challenging. It was cold.

But we expected that. When we played in Perth we experienced this, as well, and we knew looking ahead in the months that we are playing out here, we expected those conditions.

Q. I just wanted to ask you, although you say that every match is important in a World Cup, but is there talk of resting some key players for the match against Netherlands?

PARAS MHAMBREY: No, we're not going to rest anyone. I think when you have the momentum going in a tournament, you need individuals to be in form, as well, and for some, haven't gotten an opportunity to like bat, so every game becomes important, and we wouldn't be looking at resting anybody.

Q. Hardik bowled brilliantly against Pakistan and considering that he can regularly bowl four overs in any given match, is there any possibility that we can go in with an extra batter, give extra cushion to the batting lineup?

PARAS MHAMBREY: I think that will totally depend on the conditions that we play. Yeah, purely on that.

It's good that Hardik does give you that four overs option, and that's what we wanted. He brings a lot of balance to the team once he does that, and he also has been very effective for us. He's picked up wickets, and that's important for us.

But having said that, getting a batsman in or the different combination will purely depend on the team that we are playing and also the conditions.

Q. Since the team is looking at conditions, what are the kind of conditions or opposition you're looking at playing, as in when you decide to play him? Is there any specifics? We are looking at an opposition while playing him in the 11?

PARAS MHAMBREY: We're looking at obviously the balance of the team we're playing against and the batsmen that we are playing, and as I just mentioned, I think you also look at the matchup options. Sometimes you've got to think on those lines, as well.

So there's no particular condition that you're going to look at. You don't expect to have turning tracks out here. Maybe you'll have some tracks that will help a little bit of spin; we'll look into it because some of the games are playing second, so there's a lot of variant. As we go into the tournament, there will be a lot of variant around the wickets, where we feel we have an opportunity to have an additional spinner will help, we will go with him.