“If You Use Him Too Much Then…”: Ex-India Pacer On Umran Malik

Umran Malik is one of the most exciting prospects in Indian cricket and his performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 have been very impressive. The pacer has taken 15 wickets so far with his best figures coming against Gujarat Titans in SunRisers Hyderabad’s previous game. Umran went on to take five wickets but it was not enough to take the side over the line. Former India pacer Munaf Patel has said that the BCCI should look to get Umran in the national squad so that he learns the culture.

“The BCCI should not wait for him to perform in the domestic circuit and then bring him into the Indian team. You take him as the 17th member of the squad if you want, but do take him along. He will learn about the culture and various situations and will learn to adapt if he stays around with everyone. It is something that has to be done,” Munaf Patel wrote in his column for The Indian Express.

“When I first came on to the scene, social media wasn’t as big as it is now but there was certainly excitement around. It is a natural reaction if somebody comes up from a small place where there is no infrastructure. Umran has come up the same way I did. You need to take good care of him. He will last long only if the BCCI does that,” he added.

Munaf also said that Umran’s workload needs to be managed and if he is used too much, then there are chances that he might suffer a big injury.

“If you see, Zaheer Khan had also arrived as a 145-plus bowler, Ashish Nehra was there, I was there, VRV Singh was there, Ishant Sharma was also quick when he came in. At present you have guys like Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini. There needs to be a system in place where there is a restriction on the number of matches a fast bowler plays in a year,” said Munaf.

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“Now, of course, technology has advanced in terms of physiotherapy and training, but still, you will have to take care of him. If you use him too much, then chances are he will suffer a big injury and that means he will then have to start cutting down on his pace. But right now, he is bowling like soney pe suhaaga,” he added.

Umran has been bowling consistently in the range of 150kmph and his pace has become a huge talking point. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop have said that the pacer from Jammu and Kashmir will definitely play for India.