Former Australian cricketer Brett Lee urged the Indian team to play Umran Malik in the final ODI match against Australia in Chennai. India will be under pressure to win the game against Australia as they haven’t lost an ODI series in the 4 years in the home.
Speaking to the Sports Tak, Brett Lee feels Umran Malik will be a fantastic addition to the Indian Test side and added that Umran Malik should have played T20 world cup in 2022, where Team India was thrashed to a 10-wicket defeat against reigning champion England in the Semifinal.
“I like him. Get him in. Why not? (Inclusion in Test cricket). I said he should have played the World Cup last year in Australia. Didn’t take him at the start but he should have been there,” he added.
Though the fast bowler remains an integral part of the Indian team in the limited-overs formats, he hasn’t been given an opportunity in the ODI series against Australia and also added that Jammu Kashmir express would have been his first choice pacer in the Indian team as he can scare the batter with his raw pace.
“He would have been the first pick in my team because the raw pace is very hard to harness. You got to look after them but you’ve also got to throw him in the deep end at some time. Get him out there, allow him to play, and let him scare a few batters around the world,” Lee added.
Umran Malik broke the Indian record for the fastest delivery when he recorded 156kph during the second ODI of the series against Sri Lanka. It will be also interesting to see whether India goes with the same combination as in the 2nd ODI or bring in a few changes for the deciding ODI in Chennai.
Umran Malik Will Be An Integral Part Of Sunrisers Hyderabad In IPL 2023
Sunrisers Hyderabad Probably has the best fast-bowling unit which has the likes of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, and T. Natarajan. The 23-year-old Umran Malik who has been a standout performer for Sunrisers will look to continue his form for the Orange army.
Umran Malik made his debut for Team India last year and is fast becoming a key member of the team in limited-overs cricket. He has already been hailed by many as one of the most exciting players to have donned the Indian jersey in Indian cricket.
Umran Malik enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2022 making his debut for India in T20I and ODI cricket. He has so far picked 13 and 11 wickets respectively in the white-ball formats. The right-arm pacer enjoyed a stellar season in the Indian Premier League 2022 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 18 wickets in the competition