Umran Malik has caught the eye with his raw pace and has seen his career take a massive leap from being a net bowler during IPL 2021 to an international player in quick time. The youngster, despite not having enough experience at the domestic level, was fast-tracked into the Indian senior men’s team setup when he made his international debut during the Ireland tour last year.
The 23-year-old has shown potential with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar even claiming that his excitement level is similar to when he saw Sachin Tendulkar make his India debut.
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While Umran has a long way to go before becoming an India regular, his ability to regularly clock in the late 140kps and early 150kps has made him an exciting prospect, adding a different dimension to a world-class pace attack.
Obviously, whenever a tearaway pacer arrives at the international level, comparisons to yesteryear stars is inevitable. And with Shoaib Akhtar holding the record for having bowled the fastest delivery in international cricket, it’s not premature to think that Umran can reach those dizzying heights himself.
For the record, Shoaib bowled a 161kph thunderbolt during an ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand in 2002 and it remains the quickest delivery at the international level.
But what does Umran think of emulating or even surpassing that milestone?
He doesn’t think it’s impossible but his focus is more on his performances.
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“If I do well, and if I’m lucky, I’ll break that (Shoaib’s record). But I don’t think about it at all. Right now, I’m only thinking about performing well for the country,” Umran recently told News24.
Umran added that he doesn’t focus on his bowling speeds during the match.
“You don’t get to realize how fast you’ve bowled during the match. It’s only when we come back after the game when we get to know how fast I was. During the game, my only focus is on bowling in the right areas and picking up wickets,” he said.
Since making his debut in 2021, Umran has played five ODIs and three T20Is and taken a combined 9 wickets in them, He will next be seen in action during the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting January 3.
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