Waqar Younis happy Indian starlet won't feature in IND vs PAK clash

Umran Malik (Source: Twitter)

Waqar Younis has hailed Umran Malik as a real talent and felt relieved of the youngster's absence ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 clash between India and Pakistan. 

Malik broke through the scene in IPL 2021, wherein he breathed fire with his express pace. After picking 22 wickets in 14 IPL games this year, the speedster finally made his international debut against Ireland. 

However, with the figures of 1/56 against England in a T20I fixture and tough competition in the pace bowling unit, Malik could not make it through to the Indian T20 WC squad. 

The exclusion from the squad paved way for his return to domestic cricket. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Malik has scalped seven wickets in five games. 

In an interaction with A Sports, Waqar thinks it's critical to give the opportunity to talented youngsters in the early stage for strong progress. He felt surprised by Indian management's mindset of not including Malik in the setup, and reckons it's completely opposition in Pakistan. 

Furthermore, the 50-year-old stated that the likes of Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim and Haris Rauf were included during his coaching tenure between 2019 to 2021. 

"If you pick even the great bowlers, very early they are thrown in the deep end and they learn to swim quickly. I'm happy he's not there because Pakistan's match is looming. He's a real talent. I was really surprised because they don't think the way we do.

"We feel if we have pace, everything will go right. And eventually, you saw that the boys who debuted under I and Misbah are now the backbone of the bowling."

The arch-rivals India will lock horns with Pakistan in their respective T20 WC opener on Sunday (October 23) at Melbourne. 

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