Former Australia pacer Glenn McGrath finds Umran Malik impressive and he has advised the Indian speedster to train hard and not lose his pace while trying to find control.
Umran rose into the ranks after his sheer pace surprised many during the IPL 2022. His ability to bowl 150 kmph consistently impressed one and all and it also troubled many batters.
Not only did Umran impress many with his pace, but he also was the strike bowler for SRH and took 22 wickets in the tournament, the fourth-highest this season. His heroics helped him make his debut for India in the T20Is.
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He bowled decently during his debut series against Ireland and also defended 17 runs in the last over of the second T20I to help his side win the match.
However, after that, he had a bad game with the ball against England and was sidelined from the national team. His exclusion came as a surprise as skipper Rohit Sharma had said that the young bowler is very much in India's plans for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Speaking during the interview with Cricket.com, Glenn McGrath said that he hates bowlers with ‘sheer pace’ slowing down to get control. He highlighted that the pacers should put their time and effort into the nets and know their game while blowing fast at the same time.
“Sheer pace is unique. You can’t teach someone to bowl 150-plus, they’ve got to be able to naturally do that. I hate seeing bowlers slow down to get control. I like to see bowlers working harder on control, putting the time and effort in the nets to get to know their game while still bowling at top pace,” Glenn McGrath said.
McGrath said that although he hasn’t seen much of Malik, the Jammu & Kashmir pacer is rare and he should learn to find control along with not losing his pace.
“Because someone who bowls at excess of 150 kph is very rare. I don’t like to see express pacers slow down to get control. I haven’t seen a huge amount of Umran Malik but the fact that he can bowl at a good pace is impressive,” he said.
McGrath, who is also director of the MRF Pace Foundation, talked about how he finds bowlers for his academy and what goes behind making them quality products.
“We are, first and foremost, looking for fast bowlers. You can get someone to bowl a yard or two quicker but you can’t turn a 130 kph seamer into a 150 kph tearaway.
“That’s just the way it is. It’s about identifying talents who can bowl fast, but also guys that are tall, can generate bounce, swing and seam. We look at all different attributes — this comes under the skill side of things,” he said.
Umran was not even picked for the ODIs against Zimbabwe and was also dropped for the Asia Cup 2022. It remains to be seen if the selectors will provide him with another opportunity before the T20 World Cup 2022 or not.
(Cricket.com inputs)
