Irfan Pathan: “Watching him bowl reminded me of the great Waqar Younis”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Former India left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan said Umran Malik reminds him of legendary Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis.
Malik shot to fame in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for his blistering pace and wicket-taking abilities.
The 22-year-old was clocked at speeds of 157 kph and was the fourth-highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets in 14 matches for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at an average of 20.18 and an economy rate of 9.03.
“The first time I saw him bowl was when I was playing for Jammu and Kashmir and I was the mentor. Watching him bowl reminded me of the great Waqar Younis,” Pathan said on Star Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Malik’s performance in the IPL earned him a call-up to India’s T20 squad for their five-match series against South Africa, which will be played from June 9 to 19.
India T20I squad for South Africa Series:Â KL Rahul (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain)(wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
ALSO CHECK OUT: My No. 1 bowler, Babar Azam on 150 kph Pakistan quick he turns to for wickets