Bharat Arun feels Umran Malik can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record
Since he started his international career, Umran Malik has drawn attention for his ability to consistently bowl at speeds of more than 150 km/h.
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Former Indian cricketer and current bowling coach, Bharat Arun has expressed his belief that young bowler Umran Malik will definitely be able to break Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar's bowling speed record.
Bharat seemed extremely impressed with Malik's performance in the recently concluded ODI series versus Sri Lanka, where the young pacer appeared in the first two ODIs.
Have to nurture his talent: Bharat Arun's special advice for Umran Malik
Speaking with News24Sports, the 60-year-old admitted that Umran Malik was indeed a great find for India and that there was every need to nurture his talent in every way.
"Umran Malik is a great find for India. Somebody who bowls 150-plus consistently. He is a huge talent for India and we need to nurture this talent. We have the option of making him a very good bowler for India in the future," Bharat said.
He also went on to give the 23-year-old a special advice, analysing his bowling speed and performance.
"For fast bowling, physical fitness and skill is 50-50. He needs to work on both to maximise his potential, with consistency. He needs to work on these both things."
On being questioned whether Malik would ever be able to break Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar's record for the fastest delivery in ODI cricket (Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest delivery in cricket - 161.3 km/h (100.2 mph) - against England during the 2003 ODI Cricket World Cup at Cape Town in South Africa), Bharat had a very interesting answer.
"If you work on your action, your line and length will get better and speed will increase as well. To increase the pace, drills can be helpful and workload monitoring is also important. Any bowler can increase the pace by 5 kmph easily with the kind of work. But if someone is bowling 125, can't make it 150. Some putting 135, can make it 140. Some bowling 140, can make it 145. But you cannot increase too much."
Umran Malik will next be seen in action in the white ball series against New Zealand. The first ODI of the three-match series begins in Hyderabad on Wednesday (January 18).
Check out: India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score
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