‘It’s like stating Sachin…’ – Ex Pakistani captain’s bold take on Umran Malik breaking Shoaib Akhtar’s records

Umran Malik, the Indian pacer, is fast becoming an all-format player, with the Test format being the only format where he is yet to make his debut. With a smouldering pace, Malik’s only area of concern, as of now, is his line and length, although many are arguing that the pacer is still in his early days. 

Comparisons with the Pakistani great Shoaib Akhtar began when he pounced in with pace during the Indian T20 League games, as he clocked staggering speeds, promptly earning his maiden India call-up. Over time, Malik entered the 50-over setup and constant claims are being made all over the internet for him to be included in the Test setup as well. 

Former Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt opened up on the question if Malik and Pakistan’s speedster Haris Rauf could break Akhtar’s 161 km/h record. The former cricketer was too quick to respond negatively, bringing up Sachin Tendulkar’s analogy, saying that a batter cannot be compared with the Indian great and banked on to break 100 centuries record if he scores a hat-trick of hundreds. 

Records are meant to be broken: Salman Butt

Butt said that the records are meant to be broken, and could be broken by the two aspiring pacers but only if they are consistent across all formats. The former captain did not shy away from admitting to Akhtar’s greatness, citing his consistency as an example of his transcendence across the three formats. 

“As of now, they both are far from Shoaib’s record. But again, records are meant to be broken. So who knows. But Shoaib used to play all the three formats and used to bowl long spells. He was just not fast, he was a clever bowler. He know how to dismiss batters, even in Test cricket. Even when he was 39 years of age, when he played his last game in India, he clocked 159,” Butt was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel. 

“He could bowl that fast even with a six-step run up. The uniqueness that he carried, I don’t see that in Umran or Haris. But they are both young so anything can happen. But I just want to remind that whom we are comparing with. It’s like stating that if a batter scores hattrick of tons, then we say he might break Sachin’s record. That’s 100 centuries. People don’t even play that many matches in their career,” he added.