I'll break that if...: Umran Malik gives no-nonsense reply to question on him breaking Shoaib Akhtar's record
Jan 02, 2023
There are few young talents in world cricket that have excited fans from across the globe as much as Umran. Over the last one year or so, Umran has earned praise from many across the cricket fraternity for his raw pace and ability to consistently bowl at over 150 kmph.
After impressing in the later stage of IPl 2021 for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the 2016 champions took a major gamble on him and retained him for IPL 2022 at a cost of Rs. 4 crore. Umran was a revelation in the 15th edition as he finished as the Indian pacer with the most wickets with 22 scalps to his name. This led to him making his India debut in June last year against Ireland.
Due to his incredible consistency with pace, many cricket lovers have backed Umran to break Shoaib Akthar's record of the fastest delivery ever in international cricket. The ex-Pakistan pacer had stunned the world with an incredible 161.3 kmph delivery against England in the 203 World Cup.
Despite the talk around him, Umran has claimed that it is not something he thinks about and he will break the record if luck is on his side. Umran gave a blunt reply to the query and stated that his focus remains on his performances as players do not realise what speed they are bowling at during the game.
"Right now, I'm only thinking about performing well for the country. If I do well, and if I'm lucky, I'll break that. But I don't think about it at all," said Umran to News14 during a recent interaction.
"You don't get to realise how fast you've bowled during the match. It's only when we come back after the game when we get to know how fast I was. During the game, my only focus is on bowling in the right areas and picking wickets," he added.
Umran is part of both India's T20 and ODI squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and will look to put his name in the reckoning to make the Men in Blue's squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup on home soil later this year.
