Former India player Wasim Jaffer said Umran Malik has considerably improved in T20I cricket since IPL 2022. While Jaffer said that he was expensive in the three-game series against Sri Lanka, he also picked up crucial wickets also. Malik, who made his international debut in 2022, finished as the highest wicket-taker in the T20 series against Sri Lanka, which India won 2-1 as well. He claimed seven wickets in three games at 15.14, with his best haul of 4-0-48-3 as well.
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo’s Timeout, Jaffer said: “I thought he has improved considerably. Since I saw him in the IPL, I thought he will always be expensive in this format because he doesn’t have too many variations or slower balls. When you bowl at 145-150 clicks, sometimes you have to beat the batters with the lack of pace as well.”
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He continued: “Anything that comes with pace, goes out of the ground, as the batters are smart enough to use that pace. But his line and lengths have improved considerably. He’s also got that wicket-taking ability. He has been expensive in the games, but he has picked up crucial wickets. So, he has shown considerable improvements since I saw him in the IPL.”
The third and final T20I in Rajkot saw Umran Malik dismissed Dasun Shanaka and Maheesh Theekshana as well. However, he conceded over ten runs an over and with an economy rate of 9.63 in the series as well. Jaffer also shared how both Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal improved after the first game.
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“Yuzvendra Chahal has that tendency. You will see him have an off day every now and then. But he comes back stronger, and that’s what he did in this series as well. He picked up a couple of really important wickets in this game too. I would say Axar has been a find. He has bowled in the powerplay before this series, but his batting has come on really nicely. From the bowling front, he bowled with very good pace. Sometimes I think he floats it in, but he uses the pace well, hits the pitch hard, and gets some purchase out of it. Since the first game, both spinners have improved considerably,” Wasim Jaffer concluded.
