Rahul Dravid non-committal about Umran Malik playing

New Delhi, June 7

There is a lot of buzz about the inclusion of Jammu & Kashmir fast bowler Umran Malik in the Indian T20 team. The young quick snapped up 22 wickets playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and also clocked 157 kmph, which was bettered by Lockie Ferguson by only .3 decimal points.

This performance and his ability to hit the bat hard forced the selectors’ hand to pick the Srinagar-born fast bowler for the six-match Twenty20 series against South Africa, starting Thursday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.

However, Indian team chief coach Rahul Dravid has hinted that the youngster may have to wait a bit longer to make his India debut. Speaking to reporters today, the former India captain said he has a lot of options in the bowling department owing to a big squad. “He certainly bowled quick and with pace. Another thing which has been interesting for me watching the IPL from the outside is the number of Indian bowlers bowling fast,” Dravid said. “And obviously, being coach of all three formats of the game, I would love to see that translated into the longer formats of the game. It is brilliant in terms of watching Umran in the nets, you can see that he has got that pace.”

“From our perspective, I am very happy to have someone like him in the mix. We have to see how much playing time we can give him,” he added.

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