‘Papa, I want to play for India’ – Umran Malik’s father speaks about the speedster’s ambitions

Umran Malik’s rise in the cricket circuit has been mercurial in the last few months. Having made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, the right-arm speedster stunned one and all with his electrifying pace. The Jammu & Kashmir touched the 150 kmph mark consistently and the national selectors couldn’t ignore him.

While Malik was named one of India’s net bowlers in the T20 World Cup 2021, he has been drafted in India A squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa. Under Priyank Panchal’s leadership, India A will play three four-day games in rainbow nation and Malik has a brilliant chance to make a mark. Meanwhile, Malik’s rapid rise has left his father Abdul Rashid delighted.

Our wishes have always been with him: Umran Malik’s father

Rashid revealed that Umran always wanted to represent India and bring glory to the nation. “He used to say to me, ‘Papa, I want to play for India’. Our wishes have always been with him. We pray to God that our child plays for India one day. Now that his name has come into India ‘A’ squad, I hope in the future his name comes into the India squad and makes the nation proud,” Umran Malik’s father was quoted as saying by News18.

“We tell everyone ‘He is not our child; he is the child of the nation’. Our only wish now is to see him play well and bring glory to the country. We are really happy. The whole of Jammu and Kashmir and India is happy for this kid. The whole country has been praising him. We have been extremely delighted along with the whole nation as he has bowled very well,” he added.

It has to be noted that Umran wasn’t a part of SRH’s initial squad for IPL 2021. He only came in as a short-term replacement for left-arm pacer T Natarajan. The 21-year-old made brilliant use of the opportunity and soon became a household name. Speaking of Umran’s ability to deliver thunderbolts consistently, Abdul Rashid said his son has natural strength.

“He has got natural strength and did not learn from anywhere. He used to go and practice in the cricket academy as well as in the college. God has given him the strength to bowl well. He has played really well till now,” asserted Umran’s father.