Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody heaped huge praise on Umran Malik and called him a rare diamond. Malik has been quite impressive with the ball in the limited opportunities he got in the India colours. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer has already broken the record of the fastest delivery by an Indian in international cricket with a 156 kmph delivery in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. The 23-year-old holds the record for bowling the fastest ball by an Indian in T20Is (155 kmph), IPL (157 kmph) and ODIs (156 kmph).
Moody is elated to see the Indian team management giving regular chances to Umran in white-ball cricket.
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“It’s exciting to see the Indian team embracing him and he’s getting the opportunity to play at the highest level. It’s where he is going to do his most amount of learning,” Moody told Sports Tak.
“Around a high-performance environment, he is continuing to improve, like all fast young fast bowlers, it takes time and you have to be patient,” Moody added.
Umran grabbed the limelight in IPL 2022 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad as he claimed 22 wickets in 14 matches and also won the Emerging Player of the Year award. Following the IPL success, he made his international debut last year on the Ireland tour. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer grabbed the limelight for clocking 145kmph at regular intervals.
Moody talked highly of Umran and said that it’s difficult to find fast bowlers who can breach the 150 kph mark.
“But he’s a rare diamond. You rarely find fast bowlers that bowl 150+ kmph,” said Moody.
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Talking about whether Umran should get a chance on the Test side too, Moody suggested that small steps need to implement for his growth and development on big stage.
“For me, I don’t have crystal ball. At the moment, small steps with regard to his development are important. Indian selectors and coaching team realise that it’s important to integrate him in the T20 and fifty-over game. He’s getting those experiences,” Moody added.
The 23-year-old has claimed 12 wickets in 7 ODIs so far in his career so far at an average of 25.25. While he has turned out to be a bit expensive in T20Is with an economy rate of 10.9 in 6 matches.
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