'Playing in New Zealand will help Umran Malik'- Zaheer Khan

Umran Malik in action [Source: Twitter]

The lack of variety in bowling resources was a significant reason behind India's dismal World Cup campaign, as the Men in Blue signed off with a crushing ten-wicket defeat to England in the all-important semifinal.  

The Indian team management, however, did try the tearaway quick Umran Malik on their Ireland and England tours but dropped him for the marquee tournament.

Despite being quick, Umran lacked disciple and was guilty of being erratic during his spell. Now back in the Indian squad for T20Is and ODIs in New Zealand, former India paceman Zaheer Khan thinks that the Srinagar-born youngster will gain enormously from this series.

Speaking to Amazon Prime, Khan said, 

"You need a left-arm bowler, you need someone who can swing the ball, you need someone who is an out-and-out fast bowler. If everything is in one package, then even better but if not, you would like to use the variety in your attack in the bowling lineup and use different conditions well,

"Umran has been a very exciting talent and this kind of exposure is definitely going to help him, it is about how he takes things forward if he wants to grab the spot consistently."

Apart from Zaheer, other former players like Brett Lee, Robin Uthappa, and Ravi Shastri have urged the Indian selectors to play Umran consistently going forward.

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