Former Pakistan pacer Sohail Khan has been making a lot of news these days however for all the controversial reasons. He recently grabbed headlines when he made revealed a chat with ex-India skipper Virat Kohli from the 50-over World Cup in 2015.
“Virat came. He said to me ‘Aap cricket mein abhi aaye hain. And itni baatein karte ho (You’ve just arrived and you speak so much). I was a Test cricketer back then. I had played Test matches in 2006-07. Then in between I endured a troubled knee which forced me out of action. I said ‘Beta jab tu Under-19 khel raha tha na, tera baap Test cricketer tha‘ (Son, when you were playing Under-19 for India, your father [referring to himself] was a Test player). That’s how I said it. Then if you see carefully, Misbah intervened and he got angry at me. He asked me to keep quiet,” Sohail said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
Now after his statements on Virat Kohli, Sohail Khan has commented on India’s sensational pacer Umran Malik and claimed that there are many bowlers like the young Indian bowler in Pakistan.
Umran Malik has impressed one and all with his amazing performances and raw skills, ever since he made his debut for India. While speed is one of the factors that makes him stand out, however, there are several other aspects of his bowling that makes him an obvious threat to the opposition. Umran can provide the side with crucial breakthroughs and even though he can leak runs, he more often than not ends up picking wickets. Umran has inflicted more bowled dismissals than any other mode of dismissals, which makes him dangerous for the opposition.
Speaking on the Nadir Shah Podcast, Sohail Khan was asked if Umran Malik can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record. Responding to this, Sohail claimed that he has seen many bowlers like the youngster from India. He said:
“I feel this Umran Malik guy is a good bowler. I’ve seen 1-2 matches. He runs fast and has kept other things is check as well. But if you think of fast bowlers with speed in excess of over 150-155 kph, I can count 12-15 players right now who play tape-ball cricket. If you go visit the trails organised by Lahore Qalandars, you’ll find many players,”
Sohail claimed that there are many bowlers like Umran Malik and he is no special. He claimed that Pakistan’s domestic circuit is filled with players like Umran. He said: “Iske (Umran Malik) jaise toh bohot hain. Domestic cricket bhari padi hai hamaari. (Our domestic setup is filled with bowlers like Umran Malik). When a bowler comes through in our domestic level, he becomes a bonafide bowler. Like Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf… these are bowlers who know their stuff. I can give you plenty of names.”
