Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri and former pacer Zaheer Khan have spoken highly of Umran Malik’s raw pace, as the young pace sensation gears up for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting on Friday (November 18) in Wellington.
Shastri and Zaheer believe that the upcoming white-ball series in New Zealand will provide Umran with valuable exposure, but it is up to him to cement his place in the Indian team with his performance.
While the former pacer called the young pacer an exciting talent, the former captain described Malik as one of the fastest bowlers in Indian cricket. They also hope Umran will learn from the New Zealand tour.
Zaheer Khan told a select group of journalists during a call organized by Prime Video: “The variety in your pace attack is a must and you have seen teams following that kind of pattern. You need a left-arm bowler, you need someone who can swing the ball, you need someone who is an out-and-out fast bowler.”
He added, “If everything is in one package, then even better but if not, you would like to use the variety in your attack in the bowling lineup and use different conditions well. Umran has been a very exciting talent and this kind of exposure is definitely going to help him, it is about how he takes things forward if he wants to grab the spot consistently.”
Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri said that there is no substitute for genuine pace, and Umran has that pace, so he needs only exposure to flourish at the highest level.
Shastri said, “He is one of the fastest bowlers in India and you saw what happened in the World Cup where genuine pace rattled opposition, whether it was Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Anrich Nortje. So, there is no substitute for genuine pace. Even if you are defending small totals, so this is an opportunity for Umran, hopefully, he will learn from this exposure.”
(With India Today Inputs)
