diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/CanMatchNodeRequest.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/CanMatchNodeRequest.java
index ba1afaf4678fb..75908c3fa77bd 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/CanMatchNodeRequest.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/CanMatchNodeRequest.java
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ public CanMatchNodeRequest(
     ) {
         this.source = getCanMatchSource(searchRequest);
         this.indicesOptions = indicesOptions;
-        this.shards = new ArrayList<>(shards);
+        this.shards = shards;
         this.searchType = searchRequest.searchType();
         this.requestCache = searchRequest.requestCache();
         // If allowPartialSearchResults is unset (ie null), the cluster-level default should have been substituted