India tour of NZ: Umran Malik has been handed a recall to the Indian side with the team management hitting a hard reboot following their T20 World Cup debacle. One of the fastest bowlers in the world, Umran was considered a wildcard pick, but the selectors opted against grooming the Sunrisers Hyderabad star. With two years left for the 2024 T20 WC, the Selectors want to groom the tearaway quick. Follow India vs New Zealand live updates on Insidesport.IN
“Umran has the potential. But needs grooming. He was not picked for WC because he was not ready and there was not enough time to prepare him. But now, we have two years to prepare him. He will be in the scheme of things in T20s,” a member of the selection committee told Insidesport.IN
India Tour of NZ: Umran Malik set for CRUCIAL second stint in India colours with an 2024 T20 WC, Selectors say ‘We have two years to prepare’ – Check out
Umran Malik is making a comeback into the Indian team as Hardik Pandya and Co take on NewZealand in a limited-overs series. The 22-year-old pacer was earmarked as the next big thing in Indian bowling, having bowled in excess of 155kmph+ during the IPL.
Umran was fast-tracked into the Indian set-up, but the Jammu-born speedster failed to convert his IPL heroics on the international stage. After a handful of games, Malik was dropped from the squad with the likes of Mohammad Shami and even Umesh Yadav called up since.
Now, following India’s exit from the T20 World Cup, Umran Malik is back in the scheme of things. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer has been called up for the T20s, with a view to the 2024 T20 WC in West Indies and the USA. With two years left for the tournament, there is time for Umran to be groomed into an international bowler.
Umran is also vital as India continue to build their bench strength in fast bowling. The Men in Blue have seen the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar and Prasidh Krishna getting injured, seriously depleting India’s pace bowling reserves in T20Is.
“We have to prepare bench strength in pace bowling. We suffered greatly because of injuries. Bumrah, Chahar, Washington, Prasidh are all injured. It’s easy to blame the selectors. But if too many quality players are injured and one is not ready, we cannot throw them in the deep ends,” a member of the selection committee told Insidesport.IN
India Tour of NZ: Umran Malik set for CRUCIAL second stint in India colours with an 2024 T20 WC, Selectors say ‘We have two years to prepare’ – Check out
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