Umran Malik says Pakistanis are not his idols

The young pace talent emerging from India, Umran Malik says he has never idolized Pakistan’s fast bowling great, the former bowler Waqar Younis instead, he has been inspired by the country mates Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Jasprit Bumrah.

After Umran got highlighted through his stellar pace bowling in the recent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022), he was compared with the likes of Pakistani bowlers including Waqar. On one occasion, the former Australian cricketer Brett Lee said,

“I am a big fan. I think Umran Malik has got a lot of pace to burn. He is a competitor, a top guy, who runs in like a lot of fast bowlers in the past. Waqar Younis is the person who comes to mind,” 

In reply, Umran, at Indian Express Ideal Change, said that,

“I have not followed Waqar Younis. I have a natural action. My idols include (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami and Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) bhai. I used to follow them when I was playing while coming through the ranks,”

It must be noted that Malik has got his maiden call in the international cricket as the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday named 18-player squad for the South Africa series. Ind vs SA T20Is will see five matches, and Umran hopes to single-handedly win all of them.

Notably, the player bowler deliveries over 150 kph constantly. The 22-year old spoiled even the best of the batting attacks and gathered 22 wickets in 14 matches of the IPL 2022.

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