Bharat Arun also suggested how Umran Malik can break Shoaib Akhtar's record.
Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun heaped praise on Umran Malik after he yet again turned heads with his scorching pace in the recent limited-overs series against Sri Lanka at home.
Arun described Umran as a great find and huge talent for Team India but said that the young pace sensation must work on his physical fitness and skill to be a better version of himself.
Bharat Arun said during a conversation with News24 Sports: “Umran Malik is a great find for India. Somebody who bowls 150-plus consistently. He is a huge talent for India and we need to nurture this talent. We have the option of making him a very good bowler for India in the future.”
The former bowler also gave crucial advice to Jammu and Kashmir speedsters on how to break Shoaib Akhtar's record for the fastest delivery in cricket (161.3 km/h), which he achieved against England during the 2003 ODI Cricket World Cup at Cape Town in South Africa.
The former coach added, “For fast bowling, physical fitness and skill is 50-50. He needs to work on both to maximize his potential, with consistency. He needs to work on these both things. If you work on your action, your line and length will get better and speed will increase as well.”
Arun signed off by saying, “To increase the pace, drills can be helpful and workload monitoring is also important. Any bowler can increase the pace by 5 kmph easily with the kind of work. But if someone is bowling 125, can't make it 150. Some putting 135, can make it 140. Some bowling 140, can make it 145. But you cannot increase too much.”
Malik will next be seen in action in limited-overs series against New Zealand starting January 18.