Umran Malik has grabbed the headlines on several occasions since his debut in the Indian T20 League 2021. Malik has been cranking up a disconcerting pace of above 150 kmph. While playing for Hyderabad in the ongoing season, he has clocked 157 kmph as well.
Meanwhile. former Pakistan player Kamran Malik has made an interesting comment on Malik’s career. Akmal has said that if the right-arm pacer was playing in Pakistan, he would have already played international cricket by now. The former keeper-batter pointed out that the pacer’s economy is high but he still gets wickets as he is a strike bowler.
“If he was in Pakistan, maybe he would have played international cricket. His economy is high, but he is a strike bowler since he is getting wickets. After every match, his speed chart comes where he clocks around 155 km/h and it’s not going down. It’s a good competition in the Indian team,†Akmal was quoted as saying to Paktv.tv.
The 40-year-old added that Indian cricket lacked fast bowlers in the past, but now have a lot of options. He took the example of Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah who have played, and done well for India.
“Earlier, Indian cricket lacked quality fast bowlers, but now they have a plethora of pacers like Navdeep Saini, (Mohammed) Siraj, (Mohammed) Shami, and (Jasprit) Bumrah. Even Umesh Yadav is bowling beautifully. With 10-12 pacers in the ranks, it’s becoming tough for Indian selectors to make selections,†he added.
The 157-ODI veteran further added that Indian cricket has shown a lot of maturity by letting the Jammu and Kashmir player play the entire season of the ongoing Indian T20 League 2022.
“Last season he played only one or two games. If he was in Pakistan, he would surely have played for us. But Indian cricket showed a lot of maturity by giving Malik a chance to play in an entire IPL season. Brett Lee and Shoaib (Akhtar) bhai were also expensive, but they picked up wickets and that’s how strike bowlers should be,†Akmal added.
