Brian Lara pointed out a few places where the kid can improve.
Batting great for the West Indies, Brian Lara thinks India’s pacer Umran Malik needs more diversity in his bowling to make it on the international stage. Umran’s speed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year earned him a spot on the national team. In return, India called him up, and he played in his first Twenty20 International in June and his first One-Day International in November. But his performance plummeted throughout the IPL this year, and he was eventually benched.
Umran’s speed is excellent, but Lara, who coached the teenager while he was with SunRisers Hyderabad, says there are other areas in which he can improve.
“He will be a sensation, but he will quickly discover that fast bowling doesn’t pose much of a threat to the world’s top players. You need ball control, to be able to think on your feet, and to know when to slow the game down by trickling it back or speed it up. Lara added on the ‘Wake Up With Sorabh’ YouTube channel, “He is very young and has got a lot of years ahead of him.”
Lara stressed that Umran has the potential to become a top bowler in the future if he is mentored by former South African pacer Dale Steyn.
There have been a wide variety of cases. Wasim Akram possessed unrefined speed, Malcolm Marshall possessed devasting speed, and Michael Holding possessed both. But they’re all aware that they had to show up with more than just the ability to bowl quickly at some point. Umran Malik “could definitely be one of the best India could produce if he works with Dale Steyn,” he said.
While Lara’s one season as SRH’s head coach ended earlier this month, Steyn is now in that role for the bowling team.
