Umran Malik’s selection in the squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, which started on Thursday, has raised high expectation from him while Dale Steyn feel that it’s time for Umran to be included in the Playing XI.
The Indian young pacer Umran Malik’s selection in the squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, which started on Thursday, has raised expectations from the Umran.
Having captivated all with his speed in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL), Umran’s ascent is firmly followed.
Many former players, including Dale Steyn, feel that it’s time for Umran to be included in the playing XI.
With just a small bunch of series for the Indian cricket side before the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, Umran needs to leave his imprint speedy at the global level if he has any desire to book a compartment in the Indian squad for the showpiece event.
However, former Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri believes that it’s too early to give the youngster the big break.
“No, not T20 as yet. Groom him. Take him with your team. If anything, let him start playing white-ball cricket, that is 50-over cricket, maybe even red-ball cricket. Groom him there with the in the red ball team and then see how it goes,”
he said in a discussion on ESPNcricinfo.
“I think he should be around the Indian team all the while, even if he is not in the squad. I think they need to manage him…His time will come,”
Daniel Vettori, former New Zealand cricket team captain, added.
Ahead of the T20I series, India head coach Rahul Dravid gave his take on the pacer.
“Yeah, it is exciting. He certainly bowled quickly and with pace. Another thing that has been interesting for me watching the IPL from the outside is the number of Indian bowlers bowling fast. And obviously, being a coach of all three formats of the game, I would love to see that translated into the longer formats of the game. But it is brilliant in terms of watching Umran in the nets, you can see that he has got that pace,”
said Dravid.
“Obviously, he is learning. He is a young boy and he is getting better, improving. The more he can play, the better he is going to get. From our, perspective, very happy to have someone like him in the mix. We have to see how much playing time we can give him, we need to be realistic, we have a large squad, and it is not possible to give everyone playing XI time. I think I am certainly someone who likes to have that consistency.”
While playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, Umran took 22 wickets in 14 matches to finish as the fourth-highest wicket-taker.
