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Senior Indian pacer Ishant Sharma believes speedster Umran Malik should focus on his strength, which is bowling fast, and not worry about what is being said about his line and length.
There has been a lot of talk about how Umran sometimes becomes a bit erratic and gives 'hit-me' balls while trying to bowl quick. However, Ishant feels that the control and understanding of the right line and length will automatically come with experience.
Speaking on the show 'Rise of New India' on Cricbuzz, here's what Ishant had to say about Umran:
"He shouldn't worry about ki kaha fek raha hai. Jab khelega, experience ayega toh woh fek hi dega. But abhi sabse important cheez hai ki teez fekni hai. So agar 150-160 jo bhi fek sakta hai woh feke. Kya farak padta hai ki agar run keliye jaa raha hai toh. Tera kaam run bachana nehi, out karna hai. Jab tak do batters ki aankh band nehi hoti toh speed ka kya faeda? Koi usko iss tarike se confidence de ki batsman ki aankehin do baar to band karani hi hai (He shouldn't worry about where the deliveries land. With experience, he will understand. So if he can bowl at 150 or 160, he should concentrate only on that. What is the use of bowling that fast if the batters don't end up closing their eyes in fear? So someone should tell him and give him the confidence that you have to bowl so fast that batters fail to see it)."
Dinesh Karthik on Umran Malik's chances in 2023 World Cup squad
Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, who was a part of the panel as well, also gave his opinion on how Umran Malik has improved from just being someone who had raw pace. He feels that the speedster has made a cautious effort to adjust his line and length and there are shades of consistency.
Here's what Karthik stated about Umran Malik's chances of making it to India's 2023 World Cup squad:
“What I really liked about him is that he has really worked on his consistency in length because when you bowl that fast it becomes really difficult to be consistent with length. He has also been someone who has bowled through the middle of the innings a lot more. The more he bowls in the powerplay and the death, it increases his chance of being in the 2023 World Cup team. And I think he has done that in the T20s.”
With the likes of Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj already in the mix, it will be interesting to see how India fits Umran Malik into their ODI plans going forward.
