Srinagar: While there are calls for fastracking pacer Umran Malik into Team India Test squad, former India pacer Ishant Sharma has said that J&K pacer need to have solid first class background before making Test debut for India.
Earlier former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar had said that Umran should feature in India’s Test team and should be given backing there.
The Jammu born pacer Umran has featured in only 7 first-class matches so far, picking up 12 wickets.
During a discussion on JioCinema, Ishant Sharma who is doing commentary in the ongoing India-West Indies Test series, “When he has a good first-class record, he has the pace but consistency is a question mark. If you have to play him Test cricket for a long time, you need to give him a little time to do well in first-class cricket and then you can select him for Test cricket.”
“You won’t be fair to those who have performed in first-class cricket for so many years, picked up wickets for their team and for themselves so that they can play at a higher level. According to me, do justice to them first and then if Umran Malik also has a good record, you should definitely select him.”
Sanjay Manjrekar, had said that Malik should soon feature in the whites for India because of his high pace.
“I believe if you have to pick Umran (Malik), give him a chance in Test cricket because we saw when Mark Wood played the last Ashes Test, a guy who can bowl 90 miles per hour, his specialty is that the tail-enders don’t stay against him for long,” Manjrekar told News24 Sports.
“So, if you have to see Umran Malik, instead of white-ball cricket, if you have a Test series that is not that high-profile, give him a chance there, three-four over spells. So, he will be an X-factor in our bowling,” he added.