IND vs PAK LIVE: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis has taken a sarcastic dig at Indian selectors. With ex-Pakistani cricketers highly rating speed over accuracy, Umran Malik is a no-brainer for them. As he has not been picked for the T20 World Cup, former Pakistan coach believes India have done them a favour. Follow India vs Pakistan LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“When you emphasise too much on development, you lose the raw talent of a bowler. If you pick even the great bowlers, very early they are thrown in the deep end and they learn to swim quickly,” Waqar Younis told A Sports.
IND vs PAK: Waqar Younis gets sarcastic, says ‘Thank you India for not picking Umran Malik’: Check Details
Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma gave auditions to as many as 28 players before settling on the final 15. Umran Malik after his brilliant IPL 2022 campaign was fast-tracked to Team India. However, his international career did not go off to a flying start. He failed to impress going for 14 runs in his first over against Ireland.
He got another chance against Ireland but went for 42 runs for just one wicket. The final nail in the coffin came against England when he conceded 56 runs for just 1 wicket. After that, he was promptly dropped. Both Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma admitted that he is too raw a talent and needs to be developed before throwing him in the deep of international cricket and losing confidence.
Umran Malik: What went wrong?
- While he got the backing of almost all the ex-cricketers, he lacked the pace that made him a star.
- In the three T20Is, he never clocked 150kph or above.
- With no variations in his bowling, the 23-year-old lacked any weapon in his arsenal.
- Ireland batters picked him apart and then he received a reality check against England.
- In three matches, he bagged 2 wickets with an economy rate of 12.44.
- In Australia though, he could have been an option. If he could bowl at that pace on Australian pitches, he could have been a potent weapon for India.
IND vs PAK: Waqar Younis gets sarcastic, says ‘Thank you India for not picking Umran Malik’: Check Details
But Younis doesn’t agree. He believes Indian selectors missed a point by not picking a talented bowler like Umran.
“I’m happy he’s not there because India will play Pakistan. He’s a real talent. We spoke about this in Asia Cup as well because he was not there when Star sports guys were making their team. He was not there in anyone’s team,” Younis said.
Umran Malik was supposed to be a net bowler for India in Australia for T20 WC. But visa issues prevented him from flying to Australia. As a result, he is currently playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Jammu & Kashmir. He did bowl well against Maharashtra picking 4 wickets for 27 runs. But he has been lukewarm since.
“I was really surprised because they don’t think the way we do. We believe if someone has pace, he will do alright. And eventually, you could see that the kids who came into the Pakistan setup when Misbah and I were coaches are now the backbone of the bowling,” Younis added.
IND vs PAK: Waqar Younis gets sarcastic, says ‘Thank you India for not picking Umran Malik’: Check Details
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