Young pace sensation Umran Malik, who caught everyone’s attention in his brief appearance in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League has also attracted attention from the Indian team.
As per a Cricbuzz report, Umran has been asked to stay back in the UAE as a net bowler for the Virat Kohli-led side during the T20 World Cup scheduled to start right after the IPL 2021.
He was called up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad team as the replacement for T Natarajan, who had contracted Covid-19 before the UAE leg of the tournament.
He rose to prominence with the raw pace and ability to extract bounce off the surface.
He was rated very highly by the SRH management and international stars such as Kane Williamson and Jason Holder have already showered praise on him and called him “special talent”.
After the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli too recognised his potential and highlighted the need to maximise it in the near future.
"This tournament throws up talent every year, good to see a guy bowling at 150 clicks [on Umran Malik]. It is important to understand the progress of individuals from hereon. The pool of fast bowlers being strong is always a good sign for Indian cricket and whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential which is already being seen at the IPL level," Kohli had said after the match.
An entry into the Indian set up albeit as a net bowler augurs well for the Jammu Kashmir pacer as there can be numerous opportunities arising from nowhere in current circumstances with respect to Covid-19 and subsequent biosecure bubble provisions.