On Thursday, the world saw one of the firing spells ever bowled in the history of the Indian Premier League. And it was none other than the pace machine from the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp, Umran Malik. The 22-year-old registered his best figures in the IPL while playing against Gujarat Titans. Former Indian skipper and 1983 World Cup-winning member, Sunil Gavaskar, has lauded the young pacer and urged his inclusion in the England tour.
Umran was the difference between Gujarat and winning, as SRH were ahead in the contest until he was bowling. However, it was Gujarat Titans who won the match in the end, courtesy of heroics from Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan. The 22-year-old registered a figure of 5/25, including some wickets off very pacy deliveries. Umran Malik has impressed everyone with his pace, and now his accuracy has also improved. That is the season his economy which was over 10 runs, has now come to 7.97.
After his five-wicket haul last night, he is now the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He has taken 15 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 15.73. Speaking of his speed, he is consistently bowling at over 145 km/h. He got the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha with a pin-point yorker at a speed of 153 km/h. The 22-year-old is arguably the fastest bowler this season. Even GT skipper Hardik Pandya has experienced the same, as one of his balls in their last match hit the helmet of Hardik at a speed of over 145 km/h.
Gavaskar, who was impressed with the performance of the pacer, said during the commentary that Umran should be included in the Indian side for a tour of England, despite the fact of whether he will get a game or not. He said that he might not get a game because India already has Bumrah, Shami, Siraj, and Umesh. But still, he should be part of the team. Because sharing the dressing room with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli might do wonders for his future. Gavaskar concluded, “Then look what it’s going to happen to him. Take him to England for the one-off Test and the limited-overs.”
The Men in Blue will play seven matches against England and two matches against Ireland. The tour will start with two T20 international matches against Ireland on June 26. Then India will play three ODIs, three T20Is and a one-off Test, which was rescheduled due to the COVID outbreak last year.