India’s pace sensation Umran Malik impressed one and all with his exploits in the just-concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka at home.

Umran finished the series with seven wickets to his name, helping the hosts to clinch the three-match series 2-1.

After the third ODI, in which India thrashed the visitors by 91 runs to seal the series, former cricketer Wasim Jaffer heaped praise on Umran Malik, saying that the latter has improved significantly since he saw him in the IPL 2022.

“I thought he has improved considerably. Since I saw him in the IPL, I thought he will always be expensive in this format because he doesn't have too many variations or slower balls. When you bowl at 145-150 clicks, sometimes you have to beat the batters with the lack of pace as well,” said Jaffer while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.

"Anything that comes with pace, goes out of the ground, as the batters are smart enough to use that pace. But his line and lengths have improved considerably. He's also got that wicket-taking ability. He has been expensive in the games, but he has picked up crucial wickets. So, he has shown considerable improvements since I saw him in the IPL,” he added.

Jaffer also touched upon India’s spin department, mentioning that Yuzvendra Chahal came back strongly in the T20I series versus Sri Lanka.

“Yuzvendra Chahal has that tendency. You will see him have an off day every now and then. But he comes back stronger, and that's what he did in this series as well. He picked up a couple of really important wickets in this game too,” he stated.

According to Wasim Jaffer, Akshar Patel was the find of the series for India. The spin all-rounder did a brilliant job with both bat and ball in three T20Is, returning with knocks of 31*, 65* and 21* besides picking three scalps.

“I would say Akshar has been a find. He has bowled in the powerplay before this series, but his batting has come on really nicely,” Jaffer further said.

India will now take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series, starting January 10 in Guwahati.