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Brian Lara reveals what Umran Malik has to learn 'very quickly', 'Fast bowling really does not trouble the best players'
Brian Lara was Umran Malik's head coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Umran Malik's raw pace has led to many hailing him as one of the most exciting talents to have come out of Indian cricket in decades. Batting great and former captain Sunil Gavaskar even said that this is the most excited he has felt for any Indian cricketer since he saw a young Sachin Tendulkar bat. However, while he burst onto the scene in the IPL, Umran has had to bide his time and wait for chances in international cricket.
The 23-year-old made his debut in June 2022 during India's tour of Ireland. Since then, he has played 10 ODIs and taken 13 wickets and eight T20Is with 11 wickets. He is yet to make his Test debut and has played just seven first class matches in his career. In the IPL, Umran had a highly succesfull season in 2022, taking 22 wickets in 14 matches with an average of 20.18 and economy of 9.03. In the 2023 season though, Umran managed just five wickets in the eight matches he was picked in and his economy and average shot up to 10.85 and 43.40 respectively.
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West Indies legend Brian Lara, who was head coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad, the side Umran plays for in the IPL, until last season, has said that while the tearaway's pace is impressive, he will have to learn to add variety to his skillset.
“He will be a sensation, but very quickly he will have to learn that fast bowling really does not trouble the best players in the world. You have to have the ability to do something with the ball, be sensible, and maybe understand times when you have to trickle back or understand the times when you have to up the tempo. He is very young and has got a lot of years ahead of him,” said Lara on the YouTube channel 'Wake Up With Sorabh'.
“We have had so many different examples. Wasim Akram was raw pace, Malcolm Marshall had destructive pace, and Michael Holding. But they all know that at some point in time, they had to come with a lot more tricks than just being able to bowl fast. If he (Umran Malik) works with Dale Steyn, he could definitely be one of the best India could produce.”
Umran needs more overs
Former India fast bowler RP Singh earlier told Hindustan Times that Umran needs to get more overs under his belt so as to increase his skill set. “I don't think it's a confidence issue, but there are a few things that I noticed while commentating during the 1st ODI (vs West Indies). He was bowling cross-seam deliveries quite a lot, that could have been avoided. His pace was good but he bowled only three overs, which I felt were less. He could've been given more overs. Rohit opted to give the ball to Kuldeep instead,” Singh said.
Umran's last match for India was the second ODI against the West Indies. In the three overs he bowled, Umran conceded 27 runs and couldn't get a wicket as India lost the match by six wickets.
