After a terrific IPL season, pacer Umran Malik made his debut in international cricket against Ireland. Malik was part of the Indian squad for the T20 series against England but faced some criticism for his bowling.
The 22-year-old pacer produced a dismal show against England in the third T20I. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra said that Malik has undoubtedly got the pace, but he is not yet fully prepared to play for India.
“Umran Malik has something that others don’t have – extreme pace. You can’t teach that to anyone. You can teach everything else – line and length, yorker, bouncer, slower ones. But you can’t teach someone how to bowl with speed. You are either born a pacer or born a medium-pacer,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
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Chopra feels that the Jammu and Kashmir-born pacer still requires some time to feature in international cricket. “No doubt, he has the pace. But what I feel is that Umran Malik is not ready for international cricket as of now. It is very simple, he needs time. He hasn’t played a lot of cricket and so he is still raw,” the former Indian cricketer added.
Malik’s international career has not begun with a bang as he has so far managed to pick up two wickets after playing three matches. He earned his maiden India call-up for the five-match T20I series against South Africa did not get a chance to make his debut.
Umran Malik, known for his raw pace and lightning-fast deliveries, failed to do anything crucial in the third T20I against England. He conceded 56 runs in his four overs. Malik did pick up the vital wicket of English opening batter Jason Roy but that could hardly justify his poor bowling. England eventually posted a mammoth total of 215/7 in the game. India, in reply, could only manage to reach 198 runs losing nine wickets.
Malik did enjoyed a tremendous time in the 15th season of Indian Premier League (IPL). Overall, he scalped 22 wickets after playing 14 matches. He became the fourth-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2022.
In international circuit, he made his debut against Ireland in the first T20I of the series. In the second match of the series, he got one wicket conceding 42 runs in four overs.
The fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir has managed to register just two wickets to his name in three matches at an average of 56 and an economy rate of 12.44
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