Former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey touched upon the subject of the rise and fall of J&K pacer Umran Malik. Malik burst onto the scene for bowling with extreme pace and earned himself an IPL deal and a subsequent call-up to the Indian team.
Bowling at above 150 kmph regularly made him one of the most talked about players, drawing praise and appreciation from cricket enthusiasts and experts alike.
His inclusion in India's T20I and ODI squads, where he was anticipated to repeat his local success on the international scene, was made possible by his outstanding achievements throughout two IPL seasons.
While he did bowl fast at the international level and showed great promise, Umran failed to find consistency with his line and length. This discrepancy started to cause serious problems for both the IPL and international matches.
The fallout from his faltering form came quickly and heavily. In the end, Umran was cut from both his IPL squad and the Indian national team. What was once a career filled with immense promise and potential now faces a critical juncture.
Paras Mhambrey was the Indian bowling coach under whom Malik made his debut and he has seen the rise and decline of the pacer.
“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 gets carried away with the speed gun showing 160kpmh because I don’t think it is real – you realize pace was his strength. He was definitely quick and was hitting the high 140kmphs regularly,” Mhambrey told Indian Express.
Mhambrey said that once Umran Malik showed that he couldn’t consistently bowl fast with good line and length, he lost the faith of his captain. However, the former India pacer, also advised that Umran Malik has been asked to play Ranji Trophy to get control of his bowling and speed.
"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.
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,” Mhambrey added.
Umran played in an ODI series for India in the West Indies in July of last year. He last participated in a Twenty20 match in February of last year in Ahmedabad, India vs. New Zealand.
