DOHA: Umran Malik bowls very fast. Speed inspires and thrills him. In fact, he bowls faster than his own imagination so much that the 22-year-old has forced the cricket fraternity take a note of his speed.
Malik has hit the headlines after he clocked above 150kmph in this year’s IPL, where the Jammu and Kashmir speedster has been breathing fire for Hyderabad.
The 22-year-old also bowled the fastest delivery in the IPL with a 157kmph screamer in a match against Delhi.
His bowling has attracted a lot of positive remarks from legends including India’s own Sunil Gavaskar, who is all praise for the Hyderabad pacer.
Gavaskar made a case for the speedster to be included in India’s squad for the one-off Test in England as well as the ODI series there.
India lead England 2-1 in the unfinished series that was put off last year due to Covid cases in the Indian camp. The final Test match match against England will be held at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from July 1.
Under coach Rahul Dravid and new captain Rohit Sharma, the Indian is in a transition mode. India’s pace attack has been impressive but inconsistent as it was witnessed in India’s 2-1 loss to South Africa last December.
Malik, who has troubled batters throughout IPL 2022 with his raw pace and picked 21 wickets from 13 matches so far can add freshness to the bowling line-up and also get an exposure of the English summer weather.
Gavaskar said that Malik’s his speed is aided with accuracy.
“Umran Malik has been very, very impressive with his speed but more than his speed, it’s his accuracy that’s impressed me the most,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports. “A lot of guys who bowl at that speed tend to spray the ball around but Umran bowls very few wide deliveries.”
Even South African pace legend and Hyderabad bowling coach Dale Steyn said that the time is ripe to induct him into the national team.
“He is an all-out fast bowler. Some of the stats—above 90 per cent of his deliveries are around 142 to 145kmph—tell you he is looking for pace all the time,” said Steyn.
