‘The biggest challenge with Kohliis…’ – Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey opens up about future of Virat Kohli’s bowling abilities

In their last league game against the Netherlands, India used nine bowlers to bowl. Apart from five frontline bowlers, skipper Rohit Sharma used himself, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shubman Gill to bowl. Rohit and Kohli both took wickets and had a great time on the field. However, after the game, Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey revealed a big plan.

Mhambrey revealed that Indian team management is planning to use Kohli as a bowler in death overs. He also praised Kohli’s game awareness and how he planned Scott Edwards’ wicket. “It was a nice set-up. It was lovely to see Virat’s wicket. I could see him adjusting the fine leg a little bit. I looked at KL Rahul, saying where he was going to bowl. It was a lovely set-up. I had a chat with Rohit on how we could use Virat. With the new ball, he swings the ball and gives us that little bit in the powerplay,” Mhambrey said at the post-match press conference.

In his second over of the game, Kohli claimed the wicket of Netherlands captain Scott Edwards, sparking jubilation among the Bengaluru crowd. Kohli’s delivery, pitched outside leg, induced an edge off Edwards’ bat, leading to an effortless catch by wicketkeeper KL Rahul. This marked Kohli’s inaugural wicket in the ODI World Cup. Interestingly, it ended a nine-year hiatus for Kohli in the fifty-over format, as his last ODI wicket was against New Zealand in Wellington in 2014.

“The biggest challenge with Virat was the middle phase”, says Paras Mhambrey

Further explaining team management’s thinking about Virat Kohli’s bowling abilities, Mhambrey said that Kohli’s biggest issue is bowling in the middle phase. “The bigger challenge with Virat was the middle phase, which he has done in this game. He checked that box as well. Now we are going to push him for the death; let’s see when that happens, but I am sure he does have those nipping, sharp yorkers for the right-handed batters. I think we will see a little bit of that as well,” Mhambrey added.

India’s bowling unit has been in stellar form throughout the 2023 ODI World Cup. Despite initial concerns arising from Hardik Pandya‘s tournament-ending injury, Mohammed Shami seamlessly stepped into the role, providing consistent performances and mitigating the absence of the sixth bowling option. However, the host team remains vigilant, aiming to secure additional options to rely on in case any bowler encounters an off day during the upcoming semi-final.