IND vs SL: "I Hope He Doesn’t Break His Bones"- Shoaib Akhtar Replies To Umran Malik's Statement Of Breaking His Record For Quickest Delivery

Umran Malik, an Indian fast bowler, struck the Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka with a 155 kph thunderbolt on Tuesday, January 3, during the first Twenty20 International match versus Sri Lanka. The right-arm pacer shattered Jasprit Bumrah’s previous record for the quickest ball by an Indian bowler. At the Adelaide Oval, Bumrah bowled a 153.2 kph delivery against Australia in the 2018–19 Border Gavaskar series.

Umran Malik recorded an amazing final game stat of 2/27 in 4 overs against the Sri Lankans after taking 2 wickets. Many have questioned the youthful seamer’s ability to surpass Shoaib Akhtar’s 161 kmph delivery, which the former bowled against England in the 2003 World Cup. Responding to the question, Umran Malik said that currently, his focus is to only perform well for his country.

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Shoaib Akhtar Wants Umran Malik To Stay Fit And Will Be Happy If Umran Malik Breaks His Record

“Right now, I’m only thinking about performing well for the country. If I do well, and if I’m lucky, I’ll break that. But I don’t think about it at all,” Umran stated in an interview with News24 prior to the opening of T20I.

The Rawalpindi Express responded to Umran’s statement by saying he would be glad if Umran broke his milestone but also wished that the Jammu and Kashmir speedster wouldn’t break any bones in the process.

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“I’ll be happy if he (Umran) breaks my record. But in the process of breaking it, I hope he doesn’t break his bones. What I mean is that he stays fit.” said Akhtar while talking to Sportskeeda.

Umran Malik delivered a 157 kmph rocket delivery against Delhi Capitals (DC) in an IPL match last season.

Meanwhile, Jitesh Sharma, the wicketkeeper-batsman for Vidarbha, has been called up to replace Samson and will join the team in Pune, but for the second T20I, Tripathi, who has been traveling with the team and has been a part of the T20 and ODI setup for 13 games and five series, is likely to be in the starting XI.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, a top-order batter, is battling for a spot in the lineup with Tripathi, who will be a substitute for a specific slot.

Also Read: IND vs SL: Shreyas Iyer Hails Ravichandran Ashwin As One Of The Best Readers Of The Game

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