“Akhtar wasn’t just fast but he was a clever bowler,” former Pak skipper cites Sachin Tendulkar’s example while comparing Umran Malik with Shoaib Akhtar
Due to his extraordinary pace, he is constantly being compared with the legendary Pakistan speedster, Shoaib Akhtar.
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Shoaib Akhtar; Umran Malik
Umran Malik is India’s speed sensation who has the ability to bowl consistently at 150-plus kmph. Cricket fraternity first saw him bowl during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the next season, he clocked 157 kmph against Delhi Capitals. He earned the call to represent the national side after IPL 2022. Since then, he has been on a roll.
Recently, his 155 kmph delivery sent Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka back to the pavilion. Due to his extraordinary pace, he is constantly being compared with the legendary Pakistan speedster, Shoaib Akhtar. The conversation now is whether the Jammu & Kashmir pacer would ever break the 161.3 kmph speed mark which Akhtar clocked in 2003 against England. It is the quickest delivery in the history of cricket.
But former Pakistani skipper Salman Butt thinks differently. In a talk show on his YouTube channel, Butt compared Umran with Akhar by citing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar‘s example.
According to Salman Butt, Umran Malik is far away from what Akhtar has achieved
When Salman Butt was asked if Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf and India’s Umran Malik can break Shoaib Akhtar’s record, he said they are far too behind from reaching that milestone. The two youngsters have not yet shown their “uniqueness” according to Butt because Akhtar wasn’t just fast but a “clever” bowler.
“At the moment, (Umran and Rauf are) far away from Shoaib’s record, but who knows because records are made only to be broken,” Butt responded on his YouTube channel. Butt added that Shoaib was just not fast, he actually was a very clever bowler. He knew how to dismiss batsmen and how to get a wicket in Test matches. He was unplayable for most big teams in varying conditions.
“When he was 39 years old, he played his last match, against India. At the age of 39, he clocked 159 in his last game. Then he could clock 150 with a six-step run-up. So the uniqueness he carried along with himself, is not yet seen in the two boys (Umran and Rauf),” Butt added.
He then cited Sachin Tendulkar’s example by saying that it’s like “stating that if a batter scored consecutive centuries, then he can break Sachin’s record. That’s 100 centuries…people don’t even play that many matches in their career.”
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Gouri Das
(4740 Articles Published)