If Umran Malik was in Pakistan, maybe he would have played international cricket: Kamran Akmal

Former Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal believes that Jammu & Kashmir speedster Umran Malik would have already received an international call-up had he been a part of the Pakistan setup. Malik is currently representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2022 and has emerged as the franchise’s second-highest wicket-taker scalping 15 wickets from 11 matches.

Akmal, a former Rajasthan Royals member of the 2008 winning squad, feels that although Malik’s economy is relatively high, the pacer creates a big impact in the game owing to his ability to provide the team with regular breakthroughs. The veteran also praised Indian cricket for altering the face of the game by developing a slew of great fast bowlers over the past year.

“If he was in Pakistan, maybe he would have played international cricket. His economy is high, but he is a strike bowler since he is getting wickets. After every match, his speed chart comes where he clocks around 155 km/h and it’s not going down. It’s a good competition in the Indian team,” Akmal was quoted as saying to Paktv.tv.

It’s becoming tough for Indian selectors to make selections: Akmal

Akmal believes that India has got a bunch of fast bowlers, as compared to earlier times. He opined that the Indian selectors will have a hard time making the squad choices in near future. “Earlier, Indian cricket lacked quality fast bowlers, but now they have a plethora of pacers like Navdeep Saini, (Mohammed) Siraj, (Mohammed) Shami, and (Jasprit) Bumrah. Even Umesh Yadav is bowling beautifully. With 10-12 pacers in the ranks, it’s becoming tough for Indian selectors to make selections,” he added.

Allowing Umran Malik to play for a whole IPL season, according to the 40-year-old Akmal, has done wonders for the youngster’s confidence. In addition, he also compared Malik to Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee, two of the greatest fast bowlers in the modern era.

“Last season he played only one or two games. If he was in Pakistan, he would surely have played for us. But Indian cricket showed a lot of maturity by giving Malik a chance to play in an entire IPL season. Brett Lee and Shoaib (Akhtar) bhai were also expensive, but they picked up wickets and that’s how strike bowlers should be,” Akmal added.