Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has said that he is impressed with the pace and attitude of youngster Umran Malik of SRH.
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Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri said that he is impressed with the pace and attitude of youngster Umran Malik. He again shared that the SunRisers Hyderabad pace bowler will soon don the India jersey as well. However, Shastri’s comments came after Umran bowled well for SunRisers’ first match in IPL 2022 against Rajasthan Royals at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
SunRisers Hyderabad had retained him prior to the IPL 2022 mega auction. The 22-year-old talented speedster has already impressed in his maiden season for SRH last year as well. He was retained for Rs 4 crore along with the captain Kane Williamson and all-rounder Abdul Samad as well.
However, Umran Malik had a poor start as he gave away 19 runs as Rajasthan’s Jos Buttler took on him but he returned again and dismissed him in his 2nd over in the high-scoring match as well. Umran then broke the 50-plus partnership between Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal by dismissing the latter with pace as he consistently bowled in excess of 145 kph during the match. And, he finished with figures of 2/37 even as Rajasthan posted 210 on the board in it allotted 20 overs as well.
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“He is consistent and I like his attitude. This kid can only learn. This guy has got genuine pace, if he hits the right areas, he is going to trouble a lot of batters. It’s about handling him properly. You have got to give him the right messages. The way you communicate with him will be very important,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports. “There is no doubting his potential. This guy is an India player.”
Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri has also urged the Indian national team management to keep Umran Malik close to the senior team and track his progress as well. Notably, he was selected as India’s net bowler for the T20 World Cup last year, which was Ravi Shastri’s last assignment as Team India head coach as well.
“When he is ready, only time will tell but the communication part is extremely important. He should be handled with care and kept in him the mix so that he doesn’t go out of bounds. I think he has to be around the mix of the Indian cricket team. The selectors have to watch him closely. He can be part of the extended party of the Indian cricket team in these Covid-19 times,” Ravi Shastri concluded.
