Former pacer Zaheer Khan believes Umran Malik should continue to bowl as fast as possible.
Malik made his One-Day International debut on Friday, November 25, against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland, finishing with a spell of 10-0-66-2.
Zaheer Khan on Umran Malik
Umran Malik fared well in his ODI debut against New Zealand, according to former India pacer Zaheer Khan, but he needs to be given the freedom to develop. The speedster from Jammu and Kashmir finished his ten overs with figures of 2 for 66, including the priceless wickets of Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell in his thrilling first spell.
In fact, Umran’s third over to Mitchell, which turned out to be his fastest of the game and never seemed to run out of gas, registered a speed gun reading of 153.1 Kmph. Zaheer commended Umran for playing to his abilities in his remarks on his debut.
“He was great. He started very well. And the pace that everyone has been talking about that is his strength, he backed it. Towards the latter half, there are some learnings for sure but it’s just the first game for him at this level. It is about going out there, enjoying the moment, and giving it all. I think he had a good debut,” Zaheer Khan said.
Zaheer Khan also lauded Umran for his first-game body language and for his commitment to take wickets. He continued by noting that Umran made the right decision by bowling quickly and with control, and he needed breathing room to develop further.
“You can overlook the runs right now but what is important for a bowler like him, who is bowling at that kind of pace, is the wicket-taking intent. That was good, and the body language was good too. All the little fine-tuning he will figure as he moves along in his career. But what’s important is that he should back his strength and look to bowl as quick as possible. He showed decent control and should continue with that,” he added.
“You need variety in your bowling attack. You have used different bowlers for different things. When you look at Umran, you have got to look at him as a wicket-taker. Let him flourish as a bowler who is going to be that striker of your attack. He is someone who is probably not thinking about runs. He will leak runs in the process but you have got to take it in your stride and just back him to be free. That is something which is very important,” he further added.
