New Delhi: Umran Malik must gain control over his pace to harbour hopes of returning to the Indian cricket team, former bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has said.
Malik made headlines in IPL 2022 with speeds of over 90mph (145 kph), which led to his selection in India’s T20I and ODI squads.
India thought they had found an express tearaway, a rare commodity in world cricket. But he struggled to adapt to the demands of international cricket, often found wanting in consistency.
Malik has fallen in the pecking order not only in the national set-up but also in his IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad. Paras Mhambrey served as India’s bowling coach when Malik made his debut and spoke about what went wrong for him.
“I think one has to build talent. Someone having express pace is a rare commodity and you see potential in him. When he burst onto the scene bowling 145-148 (kmph) — I’m not someone who get carried away with the speed gun showing 160kpmh because I don’t think it is real – you realise pace was his strength. He was definitely quick and was hitting the high 140kmphs regularly,” Mhambrey told Indian Express.
Mhambrey was part of India’s coaching staff when they won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean last month, beating South Africa in the final by seven runs.
He has since left the job as has head coach Rahul Dravid, having joined hands in 2021 to be part of the team’s technical staff.
“To bowl consistently at that pace is good and he has done that. But how does he do that? In T20s, if you are not having control, you will struggle. Once you do that, you will lose the faith of the captain.
“So one has to gain control and that will happen only if he plays Ranji Trophy. That is why we are pushing him to play Ranji Trophy because when he goes through a season, even under pressure, he will be able to execute his skillset,” Mhambrey said.
Malik last appeared for the national team in an ODI series against the West Indies in July last year. His last match for India was against New Zealand in February last year.
Umran Malik made headlines in IPL 2022 with speeds of over 90mph, which led to his selection in India’s T20I and ODI squads, but hasn’t fallen out of favour since Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
