'Iske jaise bahut hai' - Pakistan pacer's scathing attack on Umran Malik after dig at Virat Kohli

Umran Malik is fast becoming India’s star pacer and the Tests remain the only format where he is yet to make his debut. After impressing the selectors in the Indian T20 League, Malik climbed the ladders to make it to the Indian T20I side and eventually made a cut to the ODI side as well. Given his continued impressive performances, the right-armer might as well make it through to the longest format as well. 

Former Pakistani cricketer Sohail Khan criticised the pacer during the Nadir Shah podcast claiming that he has come across too many pacers in Pakistan and it is not something new to him. One could understand that Pakistan are known for producing fast bowlers, unlike the Indian team who come up with stupendous batting talent. 

“I feel this Umran Malik guy is a good bowler. I’ve seen 1-2 matches. He runs fast and has kept other things is check as well. But if you think of fast bowlers with speed in excess of over 150-155 kph, I can count 12-15 players right now who play tape-ball cricket. If you go visit the trails organised by Lahore Qalandars, you’ll find many players,” Sohail was quoted as saying on the Nadir Shah podcast. 

Domestic cricket bhari padi hai hamaar: Sohail Khan

Further, Sohail highlighted Pakistan’s domestic setup and added that their system is filled with such bowlers who could clock 150 km/h in general. The Men in Blue, on the other hand, are leaving no stone unturned to groom Malik and it remains to be seen if the right-armer would be roped in for the 50-over World Cup set to take place later this year. 

“Iske (Umran Malik) jaise toh bohot hain. Domestic cricket bhari padi hai hamaari. (Our domestic setup is filled with bowlers like Umran Malik). When a bowler comes through in our domestic level, he becomes a bonafide bowler. Like Shaheen, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf… these are bowlers who know their stuff. I can give you plenty of names,” Sohail was quoted as saying. 

“There is only one thing that can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record, and that is called a bowling machine because no human can ever do it. The reason is that the amount of hard work that Shoaib had put in, no one has. He used to complete 32 rounds in one day; I used to do 10 in a week. He would run on mountains with weight tied his legs and sprint,” he added.