New Zealand captain Kane Williamson heaped huge praise on young India pacer Umran Malik and called him a super exciting talent. Umran played under the leadership of Williamson in IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad as the Kiwi skipper backed the Jammu and Kashmir pacer for his raw pace. The young pacer made his IPL debut in 2021 when he was picked in the second half of the tournament as a replacement for injured T Natarajan. Umran straightaway grabbed the limelight for his raw pace as he has a special ability to clock 150 kph at regular intervals.
He had a breakthrough season in IPL this year as he repaid the trust of the team management who decided to retain him over several senior stars ahead of the tournament. He claimed 22 wickets in 14 matches and also won the Emerging Player of the Year award.
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Until the IPL 2022 final, Umran Malik had the award for bowling the fastest delivery of the season at 157 kmph, until Lockie Ferguson snatched it with a 157.3 kmph thunderbolt.
He was backed by many former cricketers to get picked for the 2022 T20 World Cup squad but the selectors have different thoughts. However, he made his international debut earlier this year on Ireland tour.
Replying to a News18 Cricketnext query at a select media interaction organised by Prime Video ahead of the India vs New Zealand series, Williamson said that Umran has a raw pace and his ability to clock 150 kph made him an exciting talent.
“Umran is a super exciting talent. Spending time with him last year at the IPL and see his raw pace was a real asset to the team. To see him in the international scene now has been an amazing rise for him. And I think when you’ve got that ability to bowl 150 mark as a fast bowler, it’s very exciting," Williamson said.
Umran has been called back to the Indian team for the white-ball series -three T20Is and three ODIs against New Zealand in the absence of several senior stars. It will be a golden opportunity for him to impress the selectors and make a strong case for himself to get in the queue for the ODI World Cup squad.
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Williamson said that he has high hopes for Umran and he can be a regular in the Indian team for a long period of time.
“I think by being in the squad, clearly there is high hopes that he will have an involvement with Indian cricket for a long time. Coming on on these tours where they’ve got the opportunity to play more and more, will certainly only help him on his journey. But Yeah, Fantastic talent," he added.
Umran has played 3 T20Is for India so far in which he claimed two wickets, however, his economy rate of 12.44 came under the scanner in the past. The 22-year-old has to be wary of the short boundaries in New Zealand conditions as he might have to change his plans a bit to tackle it and cause trouble for the hosts.
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