Umran Malik has been handed out his debut cap ahead of the first T20I vs Ireland in Dublin. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the one to hand out the 98th T20I cap for India to his fellow SRH pacer.
It is a dream come true for the Jammu Express. Many cricket pundits including the likes of Sunil Gavaskar have been calling for Malik to make his debut for some time now. Umran Malik had picked up 22 wickets in 14 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this year.
Earlier, veteran Indian batsman and former captain Dilip Vengsarkar felt that Umran Malik looked the best bowler in the IPL and said that he should be given a chance straight away.
"I hope so because he (Umran) is a very exciting talent. He did well in the IPL and he deserves a chance as he looked the best bowler in the format. I hope he is in the plane and I am sure he will do well if given an opportunity," Vengsarkar told reporters during the book launch of 'The 1983 World Cup Opus. He is young and raring to go. You must give an opportunity to someone who is in form. He is young, keen to play and hungry for success," added the former national chairman of selectors."
After his IPL exploits, Malik was subsequently rewarded for his consistency by earning his maiden national call-up for the T20 series against South Africa but did not get a game.
Vengsarkar's 1983 World Cup-winning teammate and former India all-rounder Roger Binny also felt that Umran should be given a chance straightaway in all three formats.
"There is definitely going to be a bigger bunch of fast bowlers coming through now. And he (Umran) should be given a chance straight away because he has proved that he is quick and if you saw him bowl some of the yorkers in the IPL that was brute force. So you cannot keep a youngster out for that long," Binny said.
Well, these voices have been heard and Malik is all set to unleash his pace against Ireland in the first T20I.
