Umran Malik made a very impactful debut for India in ODIs, when he impressed one and all against New Zealand at Auckland’s Eden Park on November 25. He was handed cap no. 249, while Arshdeep Singh, who also made his ODI debut, got the cap number 248.
While Arshdeep went wicketless, Umran Malik picked two wickets and impressed with his pace as well, with his fastest ball clocking at 153.1 kph, while bowling over 145 kph with ease. His wickets were Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell, as he gave 66 runs in his 10 overs as well.
Unfortunately, India’s bowling effort was not enough as Tom Latham (145*) and Kane Williamson (94*) added 221* runs for the fourth wicket to chase down the 307-run target with 17 balls and 7 wickets to spare.
Back in Jammu, Umran’s entire family was glued to the TV screen watching their child play for India and his father Abdul Rashid was extremely proudful and explained to his mother that this foreign player used to be the captain of his son’s team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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“I told his mother that Umran used to bowl him [Williamson] in the nets and now they are facing each other. Aage ustaad hai toh pichhe chela (a faceoff between the master and the disciple). I really enjoyed watching them,” Rashid said in an exclusive conversation with News18 Cricketnext.
He has already made his T20I debut for India in Ireland and played against England as well. His pace made him one of the talents to watch out for. Him missing out on the T20 World Cup 2022 selection, but his father wasn’t worried about this and believes that whatever is written in one’s fate is bound to happen.
“Dekhiye janab… Log keh rahe the na, ki world cup nahi khela, lekin hum kehte hai ki achha hua jo nahi khela. Jo jab hona rehta hai wahi hota hai! (People were saying that he couldn’t get selected for the World Cup. We think it is great that he didn’t make it. Things happen when they are meant to.
You don’t need to rush behind anything. The kid is in the learning phase. He shares the dressing room with the experienced ones. He’ll go there and learn from them. You need not hurry. The big players who are already there, they are doing pretty well while others get the opportunity after being noticed,” Umran’s father added.
Rashid, who runs a fruits and vegetable shop, didn’t go to work on Friday to see his son making his India debut and also attended to his neighbors who arrived at their home to extend warm wishes.
“It was important for him to play the ODIs and he made a decent debut. The almighty backed him so did the entire nation. Sabka kehna tha ki Umran Mallik aur Sanju Samson ko khilao (People were talking about getting Umran and Sanju Samson in the team. It happened today and we felt great.
Our kid is playing for the country. What else could we ask for? The entire world is watching him. It was his debut and we are happy for him. India should’ve won the game but no worries, we will win the next one,” Rashid said.
(Cricketnext News18 inputs)
