Sohail Khan: “Our domestic setup is filled with bowlers like Umran Malik”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Sohail Khan, the Pakistan seamer, said India’s Umran Malik “is a good bowler” but is nothing special.
He noted that there are so many cricketers in Pakistan, from tape ball cricket to the domestic level, who can bowl at speeds of 150 to 155 kph like Malik does.
Malik shot to fame during the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) as he was clocked at 157 kph and took 22 wickets in 14 matches for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at an average of 20.18 and an economy rate of 9.03.
“I feel this Umran Malik guy is a good bowler. I’ve seen 1-2 matches. He runs fast and has kept other things [in] check as well,” Sohail said on The Nadir Ali podcast as quoted by Cricwick. “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 [trials] organised by Lahore Qalandars, you’ll find many players.
“Our domestic set up is filled with bowlers like Umran Malik. When a bowler comes through our domestic level, he becomes a bona fide bowler.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan team will be back in action in July when they travel to Sri Lanka for two Test matches.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood