Paras Mhambrey, India’s bowling coach from 2021 to 2024, on a Test career that ended on Friday with 229 wickets.You see a lot of these guys wearing the GPS vest, right? The tracking thing. Mohammed Shami hated that.Every time, the trainer would come in and say, “Shami Bhai, pehen lo yaar” (Shami Bhai, please wear it). And Shami would say, “Nahi yaar, mujhe khujli hoti hai. Ya main ye pehnunga, ya bowling karunga.” (It itches. Either I wear this or I bowl.) The trainer would plead that it gave us data. Shami would disagree. I always enjoyed that conversation.He is exactly like the funny interviews you must have seen. That attitude never leaves him, on the field or off it. He likes his family. He likes his friends around him. He is not the guy you see out on tour, going anywhere but the hotel. He likes his house. If he is somewhere in UP, he will go to his house. Very simple in that sense. Mohammed Shami retired from Test cricket with 64 Tests against his name, where he picked up 229 wickets.His plans on the field were simple too. I would ask myself: what is the critical bit of information about this batter? You give him that. Then a little more, maybe the dismissals. What is the pattern, a leg before, a particular gully area? Make sure those details are spot on.Because if you go and tell him, I want you to do this, I want you to do that, I know he wouldn’t agree. He knew exactly how he wanted to prepare before a series or a Test match, and he went about doing that. So that was it. Just let him do what he wanted.He had exceptional skills. India is going to miss him. Just look at the record. On the subcontinent or anywhere else, he has picked up wickets, and our pitches are not conducive to fast bowling. What he produced there is phenomenal.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Mohammed Shami: Virat Kohli’s go-to man at home and a second innings specialistHe will surprise you with his pace. He is much quicker than he looks on TV. Watch him from close quarters and you realise how much more gas he has, sharper and quicker through the air than he comes across. That is part of the mystery.Then there was the seam. I don’t think anyone else in the world, other than Sreesanth, had that kind of seam presentation. Dead straight.Other bowlers’ seams are generally slightly tilted, right? His was dead straight. When you see a seam up, you usually know the line or the angle the ball will take. But with someone presenting that seam consistently, you don’t know if it is coming in or going out. That creates doubt in the batter’s mind. Add his control, the line and channel he bowled, and you see why there were so many bowled and leg-before dismissals. Shami, who, has been out of the Indian team since the 2025 Champions Trophy, said that he’ll continue to play white-ball cricket. (AP)The intent was very clear. His commitment cannot be doubted. He would give his 100 per cent on the given day and come back, and that is all you expect from a senior bowler. I have never seen him undersell himself.Story continues below this adIf he had a good day, he was the same. If he did not, he was still the same. He would go walkabout, chatting with others. He was not the kind to sit in a corner and sulk because his day had gone by. Whether it was a good day or a bad one, when you looked to him, he was there for the team. That is a great attitude to have, especially in a senior bowler.He will be recognised as one of the better bowlers in our country, and in the world. Definitely. Ishant (Sharma) has played 100 Test matches. But in the 60-odd Tests (229 wickets from 64 matches) that Shami played, the performance ranks high. Maybe 10, 15 years down the line, people will look back and say, fine, Shami was one of the classiest bowlers India has produced.Funny guy, Shami. He never wore the vest.(As told to Tanishq Vaddi)Tanishq Vaddi is a Sports Writer with the online team of The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. He ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:Mohammed Shami