ENG vs IND | You have to use the strengths that put you here in the first place: Zaheer Khan

Umran Malik, on the back of a stellar IPL 2022, made his international debut against Ireland last month. The speedster has featured in three T20Is for his country, including the final T20I against England at Trent Bridge.

However, Malik is yet to make a mark in international cricket. In the Ireland T20Is, he conceded 56 runs off five overs across the two games while managing only one wicket. In his most recent outing against England, the right-arm bowler took 1-56 in his four-over spell as India lost the high-scoring encounter by 17 runs.

Former Indian cricketer and pace bowling legend Zaheer Khan is of the opinion that Malik should stick to the strengths that earned him a spot in the national side in the first place. During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Khan said:

“You have to use the strengths that put you here in the first place. Everyone took notice of him (Umran Malik) because he was running in hard and bowling quickly. And he was hurrying the batters, so has to stick with it. Look at these three stumps, run in as hard as possible, bowl in as hard as possible,”

The cricketer-turned-commentator also raised questions about Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s absence from the playing XI at Trent Bridge. Kumar, despite taking four wickets and managing successive economical spells in the first two games, was put on rest by the team management for the third T20I against the hosts. Khan said:

“I still felt Bhuvneshwar Kumar could have continued because he was in good nick. He is someone who couldn’t have been consistent due to injury issues. He is not been playing consistently so game time for him could have been big." Khan concluded.