(Cricket news) The festival of cricket i.e the IPL is going in full flow. A lot of players are in the form of their lives while a lot of new names are becoming household names and one such name is Umran Malik. Just last year the speedster from Jammu was selected as a net bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad on recommendation from his teammate Abdul Samad. After T Natarajan tested positive for Covid-19, Malik was selected as a replacement and his life completely changed. Even though Sunrisers Hyderabad didn't make it to the playoffs the fast bowler caught the eyes of cricketing fans. The same year he was selected as a net bowler for the 2021 T20 World Cup by team India.
Umran Malik was then retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the likes of T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 4 Cr. He later went onto play for India A in 4 day games against South Africa A. This year he has picked 9 wickets in 6 games and has bowled some amazing spells. His performances have attracted a lot of attention with experts and fans calling for him to be selected in the Indian team immediately. No Indian bowler comes close to him when it comes to raw pace which is why he can add something unique to the Indian attack. The only problem is that if he is fast tracked and thrown into international cricket it could easily backfire.
The speedster is just playing his first full IPL season and is only 21 years old. Malik definitely needs more experience playing domestic cricket. An international call up is a big thing for any cricketer but an immediate set back could be devastating as well. BCCI selectors may want to wait for another year or so before giving an international debut to Umran Malik. A few first class tours with India A will definitely do him a world of good just like it did for Mohammed Siraj who is a regular member of the Test side now. If the selectors do go with the flow and call up Umran Malik straight away for the South Africa series then it will be a big Test for the seamer who will have to develop accuracy and a few variations as well. Everything else will come later but right now he needs to continue doing the same things that he has been doing for the rest of the tournament.
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