Umran Malik has had a breakthrough year in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The SunRisers Hyderabad pacer, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, was the fastest bowler this edition. He bowled a ball at a speed of 157 km/h in the match against Delhi Capitals, making it the fastest delivery of this edition of the IPL. His rise has led many to believe that 22-year-old Malik should soon be included in the Indian cricket team. Former Pakistani cricket team player Kamran Akmal had an interesting take on Malik.
“Had Umran Malik been in Pakistan I think he would have made it to the national team. His economy is high but he has pace and also gets wickets. Strike bowlers are like that. Brett Lee was like that. Shoaib (Akhtar” Bhai was so. In Australia (where the T20 World Cup will be held) the pace will definitely matter,” Kamran Akmal said in an interview with paktv.tv.
“Umran will make a great line-up with Shami, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It will be difficult to face such an attack.”
Akmal, who has played 53 Tests, 157 ODIs and 58 T20Is for Pakistan, has been impressed by the rise of Indian fast bowling.
“I’ve seen Umran a lot less. But after every match, the speed map of his bowling shows a speed of 155.154 kph. It can’t get any lower than that. So there’s healthy competition for a spot in Indian cricket in the past there were no real fast bowlers in the Indian team and now they have a battery of pace bowlers you can see they have Navdeep Saini, (Mohammed) Siraj, (Mohammed) Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah Umesh Yadav is bowling well too So they now have 10 to 12 fast bowlers and it’s going to be difficult for them,” he said.
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Akmal added that the Indian team management has been judicious in giving Malik time to mature.
“Malik also played in the IPL last year, but I don’t think he played many games. His pace was great then too. If he had been in Pakistan he would have played. But the Indian team management showed cleverness by giving him time to improve,” Akmal said.
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