Umran Malik makes his way into the Indian National team

Team India announces squad for T20I series against South Africa

Sunrisers Hyderabad star pacer Umran Malik heroics in this season’s IPL has earned him a cap to the Indian National team. It was much anticipated that he would soon make his debut for the national team. He has been called up for the five-match T20I series against South Africa in Delhi, starting from June 9.

The Jammu and Kashmir-born player can consistently clock over 150kmph, making him one of the fiercest bowlers in the current cricketing world. Umran Malik has taken a total of 21 wickets in 13 games. His best bowling figures were against Punjab Kings being 5/25. SRH took a big gamble by retaining Malik from last year as he was an uncapped player. But, it seems that the gamble has paid off and Umran Malik has performed well above expectation and been a fan favorite.

In SRH, under the mentorship of speedster Dale Steyn, Malik has evolved very much and worked on consistently delivering 150+kmph balls. The Jammu and Kashmir-born player has won his 13th consecutive award for the fastest ball in a match in this season’s IPL. His fastest delivery has clocked 157kmph coming against Delhi Capitals. Many believe that he will be the player who will break the records of 160kmph+ bowling figures, matched by the great Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar.

The last time a player for Jammu and Kashmir represented India was Parvez Rasool in 2017 who played an ODI and a T20I. Given Umran Malik’s performances and India’s dire need for a fast bowler, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a regular for the national side. A very interesting fact to highlight, no player till today from J&K has played a test for team India, and Umran Malik can surely be the first player to do it in the near future.

Also read: Punjab Kings get the bragging rights as they beat SRH

The team selection for India did pretty much happen in the same way as was expected. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma was rested along with other senior members, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami. Given the scenario of giving rest to the senior players, the selectors named KL Rahul as their captain with Rishabh Pant as be playing under his command. Shikhar Dhawan was snubbed off as its shows that the selectors are looking at other young talents for the T20I. Punjab Kings seamer Arshdeep Singh also earned his maiden call-up to the Indian squad. His exceptional death over spells in the IPL gained the attention of the selectors. His pinpoint yorkers and ability to bowl under pressure will prove invaluable to the squad.

India Squad for T20I series against South Africa: KL Rahul(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC) (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.