Will Umran Malik make his international debut? Rahul Dravid answers
What's the story
India and South Africa will clash in the first of the five-T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to lead India's pace attack against the Proteas. It will be interesting to see if youngster Umran Malik, who was impressive in IPL 2022, receives his maiden cap. Indian head coach Rahul Dravid talked about him during a recent press conference.
Pace
'He has got that pace', says Dravid
Dravid highlighted Umran's pace that makes him a class apart. "Yeah, it is exciting. He certainly bowled quick and with pace. Another thing which has been interesting for me watching the IPL from the outside is the number of Indian bowlers bowling fast. It's brilliant in terms of watching Umran in the nets, you can see that he has got that pace," said Dravid.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Umran, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022, has been the talk of the town due to his searing deliveries. He delivered the fastest ball before Lockie Ferguson broke his record in the final. Considering his raw pace, the Indian selectors included Umran in the squad for the SA series. However, as per Dravid's statement, he might have to wait for his debut.
IPL 2022
Fourth-most wickets in IPL 2022
Umran finished as the fourth-highest wicket-taker of IPL 2022. He snapped up 22 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 20.18. Umran also took his maiden IPL five-wicket haul in the 2022 season. However, the speedster was a tad expensive in some of the games. As per ESPNcricinfo, 91% of his deliveries were over 140 KPH after the first seven matches.
Information
Fourth player from J&K to play in IPL
In 2021, Umran became the fourth player from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the IPL. Mithun Manhas, Rasikh Salam, Abdul Samad, and Manzoor Dar (who was roped in by a team but never played a game) are other players from the province.
Debut
Will Umran make his debut in the series?
Will Umran make his debut in the upcoming India-SA series? The particular question has been doing rounds lately. Although the 22-year-old has raw pace, he still needs control over his line and length. According to Dravid, "The more he is able to play, the better he is going to get. We have a large squad, it is not possible to give everyone game time."
Arshdeep
Other pacers in the Indian squad
Umran is not the only uncapped fast bowler in the Indian squad for the SA series. He is joined by left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who troubled the batters with his impeccable yorkers in IPL 2022. The Punjab Kings pacer bowled a total of 24 dot balls in the death overs during the tournament. Besides, the Indian squad also includes Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel.