Former Indian chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has opined that he would have picked Umran Malik because of his speed. Malik has impressed one and all as he can bowl quick and had a fine job for SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022.

Malik scalped 22 wickets in 14 matches for the Orange Army but he was expensive in his bowling when he got a chance to play for the national team. The 22-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir had scalped two wickets in the three T20I matches he played for the national team but conceded his runs at a high economy rate of 12.44.

Malik had last played against England but didn’t get his opportunities in the following series against West Indies, Zimbabwe, and the Asia Cup.

However, Vengsarkar feels Umran Malik could have provided an X-factor in the T20I showpiece because of his speed.

“There is no out-of-the-box thinking. I would have picked Umran Malik because of his speed. He is a guy who is bowling 150kmph; you’ve got to pick him now, you can’t pick him when he becomes a 130kmph bowler. In Dubai, where the wicket was flat and grassless, where there was no bounce, you needed fast bowlers. If you had medium pacers, you would be tonked around. You needed fast bowlers who could beat the batters in pace,” said Vengsarkar while talking to Sportstar.

Furthermore, Vengsarkar added that Shubman Gill and Mohammed Shami should have also been included in the squad. Gill has been in fine form in the recent past while Shami had also performed well for Gujarat Titans in the IPL.

Shami is currently part of the standby players for the T20 World Cup however he is expected to replace injured Jasprit Bumrah.

“Shreyas Iyer is in good form and he missed out. Mohammed Shami and Shubman Gill should also be on the team. I am impressed with Gill,” said Vengsarkar.

India will begin their T20 World Cup against Pakistan on 23rd October at the iconic MCG, Melbourne.