[WATCH] “Dekh ke, camera idhar hai” - Debutant Umran Malik nearly collides with the cameraman

Jammu & Kashmir speedster Umran Malik nearly collided with the cameraman while receiving his maiden ODI cap from acting head coach VVS Laxman during the 1st ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday (November 25).

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a funny video where a nervous Malik didn’t realize the movement of the cameraman. Sharing the funny video on Twitter, the BCCI captioned:

“Moment to cherish! Congratulations to @arshdeepsinghh and @umran_malik_01 as they are set to make their ODI debut.”

Besides Malik, Arshdeep Singh also made his ODI debut in the opener. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bowl. Speaking at the coin toss, stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan said:

“We’ve got two debutants – Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik. It's a good opportunity for all the youngsters to perform and show their talents.”

Malik has so far represented the Men in Blue in three T20Is, where he picked up a couple of wickets. He didn’t get a chance in the recently concluded T20I series but was rewarded with an ODI cap.

The IPL pace sensation has a reputation for bowling at a speed of 150+ kmph. He scalped 22 wickets in 14 games for SRH last season.

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“Better suited for this format” – Wasim Jaffer on Umran Malik

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer feels that Malik is better suited for ODIs than T20Is, where he can bowl maximum overs in different spells.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said:

“I think Umran Malik is better suited for this format compared to T20.”

Malik has been in fine form of late, picking up eight wickets in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, including a four-wicket haul. The speedster will look to exploit the pace-friendly conditions to his advantage in New Zealand.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan is leading the side in the absence of senior players – Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. He will look to replicate Team India’s recent success in T20I, where they won the series 1-0 under Hardik Pandya.

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal.