SunRisers Hyderabad’s pacer Umran Malik has become one of the most talked-about players off-lately, all thanks to his terrific performances in the just concluded 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League.
His raw pace and ability to take wickets impressed everyone. He created the record of bowling the fastest delivery by an Indian pacer in the history of the Indian Premier League. The sensational pacer picked 22 wickets in the league phase of the IPL 2022 for SunRisers Hyderabad.
Now with the successful completion of IPL 2022, all the focus has now shifted to the international scene. Umran Malik, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, received his maiden India call-up after enduring a stellar season.
The members of the Rahul Dravid-coached side are gearing up for the upcoming 5-match T20I series against South Africa at home. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, the team will be led by opener KL Rahul.
Ravi Shastri Is All Praises For Umran Malik
Meanwhile, ahead of the series, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praises on Indian pacer Umran Malik, who he believes will be an ‘awkward customer’ for the opposition in the upcoming 5-match T20I series between the KL Rahul-led Team India and South Africa. Ravi Shastri expects Umran Malik to rattle South Africa’s premier batters in the upcoming series. He said:
“If he can focus and get the lines right where he attacks the stumps more, then he can be a very awkward customer, especially if there is something in the surface, if it is two-paced, it has a bit of juice in it, at that pace he can rattle you, especially newcomers who come into bat,”
Talking about how the KL Rahul-led side can use Umran against the Kiwis, Shastri said: “There is not too much work to be done. It’s just about making him more consistent in what he does, which means his practice sessions in the nets will revolve around line more than anything else. He hits the right areas length-wise but line-wise he sometimes struggles,”
India’s T20I Squad:
KL Rahul (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(VC) (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
South Africa’s T20I Squad:
Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen
