“Central Contract Straightaway…”: Ex-India Coach Ravi Shastri On How Umran Malik Should Be Handled

Umran Malik has so far picked 21 wickets in 13 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and has caught former India coach Ravi Shastri’s attention

The list of Umran Malik’s admirers is growing by the day. The SunRisers Hyderabad bowler has impressed all with his raw pace. Currently, he is among the top-four wicket-takers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with 21 scalps. On Tuesday, Malik picked three wickets for 23 runs against five-time champions Mumbai Indians. The 22-year-old Malik’s rise has caught former India coach Ravi Shastri’s attention too and he has a suggestion for Malik’s improvement.

“(BCCI) Central contract straightaway. Don’t let him float around, keep him in the mix with the main players. Then he learns by being around the Shamis and Bumrahs and see the way they train, see the way they manage their workload. Of course, the team management and support staff will be there. But don’t let him go astray. Keep him in the mix,” Shastri said in an interview to ESPNCricinfo Time-out.

“I think he’ll get better and better. You see his bowling, once he takes a wicket. Look at the lines he starts bowling as opposed when he is not getting a wicket. That’s when he struggles, his lines are all over the place. You don’t want him to cut down on pace. The last thing you’d want to tell him is while looking for control you cut down on pace. What you want him to do is get his lines right. If he can attack the stumps by constantly varying his length, he will trouble anyone. And he can really rattle a new guy coming in because he’s got the pace, he can keep the bloke on his toes but it’s that line if he can hit the channel without reducing his pace, it’ll make a huge difference.”

Shastri claimed Malik can be a force in red-ball cricket too.

“Just tell him to do what he does best which is bowl fast… Also educate him on the lines you’ve got to bowl. Tell him to focus on those three stumps. You get that right first. After that, you can try and learn whatever other skills you want to add. And I promise you this guy is going to be a handful in red-ball cricket. If you add this guy to the Indian pace battery with Bumrah and Shami, I think the Indian attack is going to be a serious one,” Shastri said.