Young Indian speedster Umran Malik is new to the international arena, but he has already made a name for himself due to his super impressive fast bowling. The Jammu-born has become a household name ever since his breakout season in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Umran is known for delivering thunderbolts and making batters’ time miserable. He generally bowls over 145 km/h, and in an IPL game against Delhi Capitals (DC), the right-arm speedster delivered a rocket that clocked at 157 kmph.
No wonder Umran is often compared to some of the world’s fastest bowlers, and his fans reckon that the 23-year-old has all the abilities to break former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar‘s record fastest ball in the history of international cricket.
Notably, Akhtar was the first cricketer to break the 100 mph barrier in international cricket before registering the fastest 161.3 kph delivery during the 2003 World Cup. Akhtar achieved the feat on February 22, 2003, when he delivered a 100.23 mph ball against England opener Nick Knight.
Umran was recently quizzed if he aims to break Akhtar’s long-standing record. In response, the pacer insisted that he doesn’t think about the record and is only committed to performing well for Team India.
“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 in an interview with News24.
“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,” added the J&K pacer.
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