“It’s not very easy to drop someone like Mohammed Shami”, says India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.

India remains the sole unbeaten team in the current Asia Cup edition. They have secured victories against Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in this six-team competition, securing a spot in the final. Remarkably, the Indian team management has chosen to sideline the ace speedster, Mohammed Shami, preferring to field only two frontline seamers, namely Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

In their most recent match against Sri Lanka, the ‘Men in Blue’ fielded Axar Patel, while Shardul Thakur was given the nod in previous games. Paras Mhambrey, India’s bowling coach, expressed satisfaction with Bumrah’s recovery from injury. He also acknowledged that omitting the experienced Shami from the starting lineup was an arduous decision to make.

“We have been following Bumrah’s progress from the NCA, and we are very happy with the report that we have got. Now, we have four quality bowlers, and it is always great to have those options. The problem of plenty is always good,” Mhambrey was quoted as saying by India Today ahead of India’s final Super Four match against Bangladesh on Friday.

“It’s not very easy to drop someone like Shami. The experience that he has and the performance that he has done for the country is phenomenal. It’s never easy to have that kind of a conversation (dropping a player).”