'Bowl a million balls aimed at one stump' - Sanjay Manjrekar's advice to developing speedster Umran Malik

Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar shared a piece of advice for speedster Umran Malik, who made his debut in the recently concluded Ireland series in Dublin. Malik was given just one over in the rain-delayed first match but completed his four-over spell in the second game that ended being a thrilling encounter, partial credits to Malik.

Malik conceded a lot of runs in the five overs that he bowled throughout the series, as he gave away 56 runs at an economy of 11.20. He was put to test in the second T20I when skipper Hardik Pandya gave him the responsibility of the last over, where he had to defend 17 runs. Although he took a few boundaries, he remained composed and only allowed 12 runs to be scored. Manjrekar hailed the youthful bowler despite the contrasting outcomes.

“What a rare talent Umran Malik is! All he needs to do in practice is bowl a million balls aimed at one stump. Accuracy & other skills will come in time. But NEVER should it come at the cost of pace. #UmranMalik,” said Manjrekar in his tweet.

What a rare talent Umran Mallik is!
All he needs to do in practice is bowl a million balls aimed at one stump.Accuracy & other skills will come in time.But NEVER should it come at the cost of pace. #UmranMalik

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) June 29, 2022

During the process, Malik bagged his maiden international wicket when he picked Ireland’s wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker during his early stage in the game. Even after being smashed for so many runs, he kept his calm on the field and planned a perfect dismissal to bag his first international wicket.

Umran Malik taking small steps toward fulfilling a bigger dream

Umran Malik’s journey in cricket was filled with several ups and downs. Son of a fruit vendor, the 22-year-old worked hard during the IPL 2022 and utilized every moment that he spent with his bowling coach Dale Steyn. His learnings were clearly visible during the games that he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Steyn was confident of Malik receiving his India call-up soon, and so he did when he was named in the Indian squad for the South Africa series at home.

He could not find himself a place in the playing combination in the home series but made a mark in the away series in Ireland. His composure and patience in the final and crucial over of the second match was the highlight of the entire tour as he took away a lot of lessons from the two games.