Ravi Shastri requested BCCI to give Central Contract to Umran Malik “straight away”

Umran Malik, who bowled the fastest ball in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is spreading his flame these days. He is in the race for the Purple Cap in the league. The Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler has impressed everyone with his raw pace. The 22-year-old pacer has caught the attention of ex-India coach Ravi Shastri.

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Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has asked BCCI to not waste the talent of SRH pacer Umran Malik and straightaway hand him a BCCI central contract.

“(BCCI) Central contract straightaway. Don’t let him float around, keep him in the mix with the main players. Then he learns by being around the Shamis and Bumrahs and SEEING the way they train, see the way they manage their workload. Of course, the team management and support staff will be there. But don’t let him go astray. Keep him in the mix,” 

Shastri said in an interview.

‘Don’t let him float around’: Ravi Shastri

The former head coach also said that the 22-year-old pacer needs to bowl on consistent lines and attack at stumps without reducing his sheer pace. He also said that he does not want Umran to float around the Indian team and wait for his chance.

“Tell him to focus on those three stumps. You get that right first. After that, you can try and learn whatever other skills you want to add. And I promise you this guy is gonna be a handful in red-ball cricket. If you add this guy to Bumrah and Shami I think the Indian attack is going to be a serious one,”

Shastri added further.

Despite being on the expensive side, Malik is having a great tournament as he picked up 21 wickets in 13 games and is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2022. He has also bowled the fastest delivery of the tournament at 157 km/h.