After ridiculing Virat Kohli, Pakistan cricketer Sohail Khan has now targeted India’s latest pace sensation, Umran Malik. The youngster has made a name for himself due to his ability to bowl at 150+ kmph consistently. He went on to record a speed of 156 KMPH in the recently concluded Sri Lanka white ball series.
In his early career, this was the fastest he has ever bowled. Former cricketers and pundits have praised him, but Sohail believes otherwise. Umran has played 16 matches for India, eight in ODIs and eight in T20Is, and has taken 24 wickets at an average of less than 30 in both formats.
When asked if the young Indian can break Shoaib Akhtar’s pace barrier, Khan said on the Nadir Shah Podcast that he has seen many bowlers like Umran. “Iske jaise bahut hai,” he replied.
“I feel this Umran Malik guy is a good bowler. I’ve seen 1-2 matches. He runs fast and has kept other things is check as well. But if you think of fast bowlers with speed in excess of over 150-155 kph, I can count 12-15 players right now who play tape-ball cricket. If you go visit the trails organised by Lahore Qalandars, you’ll find many players,” Sohail said on The Nadir Ali podcast.
“Iske (Umran Malik) jaise toh bohot hain. Domestic cricket bhari padi hai hamaari. (Our domestic setup is filled with bowlers like Umran Malik). When a bowler comes through in our domestic level, he becomes a bonafide bowler. Like Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf… these are bowlers who know their stuff. I can give you plenty of names.”
Earlier in the conversation, another Pakistan cricketer didn’t hesitate to make a dig at Umran. Umran’s pace drops during the match, according to Aaqib Javed, who compared him to Haris Rauf. In addition, Khan expressed his opinion on whether Umran can break Akhtar’s record.
“There is only one thing that can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record, and that is called a bowling machine because no human can ever do it. The reason is that the amount of hard work that Shoaib had put in, no one has. He used to complete 32 rounds in one day; I used to do 10 in a week. He would run on mountains with weight tied his legs and sprint,” said the Pakistan pacer.
