'I’d pencil him in for that Test match against England in July' - Kevin Pietersen on Umran Malik

Former England cricketer-turned pundit Kevin Pietersen, has urged the Indian selectors to pick young tear away pacer Umran Malik for the 5th and final Test against England.

Malik has turned heads with his searing pace in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Sunrisers Hyderabad speedster recently bowled the second fastest ball in the history of IPL (157 kmph).

The right-arm pacer from Jammu is consistently clocking in excess of 150 kmph and regularly clattering batters' stumps. In 10 games, Malik has claimed 15 wickets at an average of 22 and an economy rate of 8.92, including a five-wicket haul against the Gujarat Titans, the table toppers.

The young pacer has attracted glowing praise from the likes of Dale Steyn, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bishop, and many other former cricketers. So much so that people have been calling for his inclusion in the Indian Test team.

In his column for Betway, KP heaped high praise on Umran besides urging the Indian selectors to "let him rip" in Test cricket. The former cricketer thinks India should use Umran much like Australia used Mitchel Johnson.

"There are so many exciting young Indian pace bowlers in the IPL at the moment. Of the overseas players, only Lockie Ferguson and Alzarri Joseph are matching them for pace. Kartik Tyagi and Mohsin Khan are both rapid, but the one that's most exciting is Umran Malik. He bowled a 157kph delivery against Delhi on Thursday, which is serious pace," Pietersen wrote.

"You could use him like Australia used to use Mitchell Johnson, in short three or four-over spells so that he can just let rip. If I was an India selector, I'd pencil him in for that Test match against England in July,"

He also took a subtle dig at county cricket when he wrote that Malik's pace could take England batters by surprise as they'd be fresh off facing medium pacers in the championship.

"The England batters are currently facing 70mph seamers in county cricket, so they certainly won't want to be facing 90-95mph bowling all of a sudden," he stated.

India will take on England in the final Test of the Pataudi Trophy at Edgbaston from July 01-05. The series currently stands 2-1 in favour of the visitors.