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Aakash Chopra claims India's pace sensation Umran Malik isn't ready for international cricket at the moment

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 7/14/2022 7:00:38 AM

New Delhi, July 13 Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has claimed that Indian pace sensation Umran Malik isn't ready for international cricket at the moment. The Indian pacer announced himself this year with an incredible performance in the IPL for his franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the 14 matches he played, the Jammu and Kashmir star picked up 22 wickets at an average of 20.18. After a breakthrough season in the IPL this year, Malik made his debut in national team colours during the tour of Ireland last month. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer had an indifferent debut but bounced back in the second game and delivered the win for India in the last over of the second T20I. Malik was then included in the lineup for the third match in the recently-concluded T20I series against England. However, he failed to impress and conceded 56 runs in his allotted four overs. The 22- year-old only wicket in the game was in the form of Jason Roy. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Indian cricketer Chopra said that Malik does have extreme pace in his arsenal. Umran Malik has something that others don’t have extreme pace. You can’t teach that to anyone. You can teach everything else line and length, yorker, bouncer, slower ones. But you can’t teach someone how to bowl with speed. You are either born a pacer or born a mediumpacer,” said Chopra. Despite this, Chopra felt that the 22-year-old wasn't ready yet for the international stage. He said that Malik requires time and is still a bit raw. “No doubt, he has the pace. But what I feel is that Umran Malik is not ready for international cricket as of now. It is very simple, he needs time. He hasn’t played a lot of cricket and so he is still raw,” said Chopra.