'He's a rare diamond but...': Australia great's blunt remark on whether Umran Malik should be given chances in Tests
Umran Malik has impressed with regular wicket-taking performances in the white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
Team India produced an impressive outing in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, as the side registered a four-wicket victory in the second match in Kolkata. With the win, India clinched the series as the side continues on its impressive run at the turn of the new year. Earlier, a Hardik Pandya-led Indian team had also registered a 2-1 series win in the T20Is against Sri Lanka. One of the standout performers for India in both series was speedster Umran Malik, who picked regular wickets in all matches.
In the T20I series, Umran took seven wickets in three matches, and kept his form intact in the fifty-over format, taking five wickets so far. Following his impressive performances in the colored jersey, calls have increased for his inclusion in the longest format of the game as well. And Tom Moody, the former Australian player who has worked with Umran during the former's time at the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, spoke in detail about the speedster during an interview with Sports Tak.
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“It's exciting to see the Indian team embracing him and he's getting opportunity to play at the highest level. It's where he is going to do his most amount of learning. Around the high performance environment. He is continuing to improve, like all fast young fast bowlers, it takes time and you have to be patient,” Moody said when asked about Umran's performances so far.
“But he's a rare diamond. You rarely find fast bowlers that bowl 150+ kph.”
When asked if he should be included in the Test team, Moody insisted that the team needs to be patient with him.
“For me, I don't have crystal ball. At the moment, small steps with regard to his development are important. Indian selectors and coaching team realise that it's important to integrate him in the T20 and fifty-over game. He's getting those experiences,” said Moody further.
