Former legendary Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has showered praise on Umran Malik, who has impressed with his raw pace in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League 2022 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Malik has been right on the money and has played a key role in the success of his team.
The fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir scalped 2-27 against KKR, in which he bowled a searing yorker to dismiss KKR captain Shreyas Iyer and then returned with his best bowling figures in the IPL of 4-28 against Punjab Kings, which included a three-wicket maiden over.
Malik bowled another excellent spell of 1-13 against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. The gun fast bowler has consistently bowled above 145 km/h and he has breathed down the neck of the opposition batters.
“If you have a bowler bowling at that pace, I am sure the selectors will be very interested and love to have someone bowling at that pace for your country,” said Glenn McGrath.
“It is about being able to bowl your three lengths — a good-length ball, a good bouncer and a yorker.
“Bowling a yorker is a lot tougher and the fact that he is able to bowl one at that pace makes him very dangerous.”
On the other hand, Glenn McGrath has an MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, and bowlers like Avesh Khan and Prasidh Krishna have come through the ranks. Khan had finished the previous season of the IPL as the second-highest wicket-taker as he had snared 24 wickets in 16 matches for Delhi Capitals. Furthermore, Prasidh Krishna has also impressed with his pace and bounce.
“I think there are a lot of academies, like NCA, and what we do here is focus more on fast bowling and that is important. Just continue bringing the young guys through. Recently we saw two of our guys Avesh Khan and Prasidh Krishna come through, and to see Prasidh bowl a wicket maiden in the penultimate over [against Delhi Capitals] shows they can handle pressure,” McGrath said, as quoted by The Hindu.
It is certainly heartening to see that a new crop of Indian fast bowlers are rising in stature and they are on the right track.
