Srinagar: Team India and J&K pace sensation Umran Malik has been out of favour with the Team India squad and hasnt featured for the Country since 2023. The bowling coach of India Paras Mhambrey has now explained why tearaway pacer isnt part of Team India.
Mhambrey has said that he is not impressed with speed gun showing speed of 160kmph and Umran Malik needs to gain control which he will learn in Ranji Trophy.
Malik became an overnight sensation when he made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut fur Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 2021 edition. He got fastracked into the Indian setup and made his T20I debut in June 2022. But within a year, he fell out of radar and wasn’t a regular in SRH’s playing XI in IPL 2024 so far.
“I think one has to build talent. Someone having express pace is a rare commodity and you see potential in him. When he burst onto the scene bowling 145-148 (kmph) — I’m not someone who get carried away with the speed gun showing 160kpmh because I don’t think it is real – you realise pace was his strength. He was definitely quick and was hitting the high 140kmphs regularly. To bowl consistently at that pace is good and he has done that. But how does he do that? In T20s, if you are not having control, you will struggle. Once you do that, you will lose the faith of the captain,” Team India outgoing bowling coach Mhambrey told Indian Express.
“So one has to gain control and that will happen only if he plays Ranji Trophy. That is why we are pushing him to play Ranji Trophy because when he goes through a season, even under pressure, he will be able to execute his skillset,” he added.
Umran’s has made 10 ODI and eight T20I appearances. While he has managed to take 13 ODI and 11 T20I wickets, his economy rate is under the scanner. He has an economy rate of 6.54 runs per over in the 50-over format and 10.48 in the shortest format of the game. In the last ODI he played, he conceded 27 runs from three overs. It will be interesting to see if he makes it to one of the squads for upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024.