IND vs SA: The Best Thing About Umran Malik Is He Gets You Wickets In The Middle - Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar asserted that Umran Malik is a great option in the middle overs as he can provide the breakthroughs, something very few pacers are capable of doing.
Ahead of the 5-match T20I series against South Africa, India needs to find the right combination of bowlers, and having Umran is one of them. He has a knack for getting wickets in the stages where the batters are just trying to build a platform for the death overs.
“He is there in the squad, he might play a couple of matches but bilateral matches who cares, it is about the big marquee event, the ICC events. So that’s where they (selectors) will be wondering if it is a bit too early to rush him into that kind of a stage but no harm in looking at him.”
“The best thing about Umran Malik is that he gets you wickets in the middle, very few fast bowlers can do that. If India has a combination of spinners who are not wicket-taking in the middle, that’s where Umran comes in,” Manjrekar said during an interaction on Sports 18.
“Bhuvneshwar has shown that he is a pretty reliable death bowler” – Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar also felt that the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar has proven himself in the death overs but the competition is also stern with the likes of Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh doing well in the same role.
“There are lots of candidates. Bhuvneshwar was very good, he has shown that he is a pretty reliable death bowler, India needs somebody in the death. Bhuvneshwar is likely to play, if you have got him in the squad, might as well play him but there are other exciting options as well.”
“Avesh Khan is another good candidate, there is Harshal Patel, there is Arshdeep Singh. So there is going to be a real clamor for those spots. India will go for three genuine seam bowlers with Hardik Pandya as their fourth option. It’s like pick anyone and they are still going to be quality,” he also mentioned.
