Umran Malik has lately been receiving rave reviews for his performances with Team India in international cricket. The pacer was in brilliant form during the recently-concluded three-match ODI series vs Sri Lanka, where he featured in the first two fixtures. In the first ODI, the bowler took three wickets in eight overs as India went on to win by 67 runs in Guwahati. In the second ODI, the 23-year-old bagged two dismissals in seven overs, as India secured a four-wicket victory in Kolkata. The pacer didn’t feature in the final ODI, which India won by 317 runs. Bowling 150-plus deliveries consistently, Umran is also a part of India’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against New Zealand. The ODI series is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, in Hyderabad, and Umran will be hoping to build on his momentum if given a chance. The Jammu and Kashmir cricketer could also be a surprise inclusion for this year’s ODI World Cup, if he keeps up with his inspiring performances.
Recently during a conversation with News24 Sports, former India bowling coach Bharat Arun analysed Umran and also had some advice for him on breaking Shoaib Akhtar’s speed record. Arun praised Umran’s potential and encouraged him to nurture it. He explained that physical fitness and skill must be balanced in order to increase speed, and that drills and workload monitoring are important in order to improve. Arun believes anyone can increase their speed by 5 kmph, but it is not possible to increase it too much. He concluded that Umran has the potential to become a very good bowler for India in the future.
