'Need to be realistic. Not possible to give everyone Playing XI time': Dravid drops big hint about Umran's chances vs SA
Umran Malik had a breakthrough season in the latest edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), troubling even the premium batters with his breathtaking pace.
Umran Malik had a breakthrough season in the latest edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), troubling even the premium batters with his breathtaking pace. He was among the three players retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad and the 22-year-old pacer exceeded the expectations.
The bowler scalped 22 wickets in the 14 matches he played, which included a five-wicket haul in a losing cause against Gujarat Titans. Such was his impact that despite having an economy of more than 9 runs per over, the Kashmiri pacer was rewarded with a India call-up for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, which starts from June 9.
Two days prior to the contest, India head coach Rahul Dravid called the uncapped talent exciting but also hinted that the fans might not see Malik feature in any of the T20Is.
"He (Malik) certainly bowled quick and with pace. Another thing which has been interesting for me watching the IPL from the outside is the number of Indian bowlers bowling fast. And obviously, being coach of all three formats of the game, I would love to see that translated into the longer formats of the game.
“But it is brilliant in terms of watching Umran in the nets, you can see that he has got that pace. Obviously, he is learning. He is a young boy and he is getting better, improving. The more he is able to play, the better he is going to get. From our, perspective, very happy to have someone like him in the mix. We have to see how much playing time we can give him, we need to be realistic, we have a large squad, it is not possible to give everyone playing XI time,” said Dravid at the post-conference in Delhi on Tuesday.
Apart from Malik, India have also included Punjab Kings talent Arshdeep Singh in the squad. The youngster from Punjab impressed most with his run controlling ability in the death overs.
“I think I am certainly someone who likes to have that consistency, give people time and let him feel settled in the positions. It would be interesting time to see how much playing time we give to Umran, we also have Arshdeep here who is brilliant as well. We have experience in the form of guys who have been with us before, Harshal, Bhuvi, Avesh. There are certain things we need to look at but it is nice and exciting to have a couple of young guys in the mix as well. It has given an opportunity for us to broaden our pool and see what they can do,” he further said.
India's big guns Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has been rested for the series and we will see KL Rahul lead India in the upcoming matches.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik has made a comeback on the back of an impressive show in IPL 2022, and the veteran wicketkeeper-batter will take this opportunity to cement his spot in the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be played in Australia later this year.
India's squad: KL Rahul (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain)(wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
