Back after recovering from COVID, which forced him to sit out of Edgbaston Test, India Captain Rohit Sharma said pacer Umran Malik is still in the team’s plan despite his poor performance in the T20 Internationals against Ireland.
“We are trying to make him understand what the team needs from him. We will have to see what he has to offer us. He is an exciting prospect, we have seen it in the IPL. It’s about giving him a role, whether we want him to bowl with the new ball or in the middle overs because when you play for a franchise, you have a different role. Guys there is a certain skill set here, it is about understanding it, fitting these people into the team and giving them role clarity,” Sharma said.
Umran Malik, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, came on the back of a dream season of IPL in which he took 22 wickets in 14 matches, regularly touching the 150kmph mark. In the Ireland series, however, he conceded 14 runs in the only over bowled in the first T20I and took 1 for 42 in 4 overs in the second T20I.
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The 35-year-old also said that the team is eyeing the upcoming T20 World cup. However, he refused to call the series ‘preparatory’.
Our eyes are on the World T20. I would not say that (it) is preparation. Every match is important for India. We want to come here and make sure we tick all our boxes and get the job done,” said Rohit.
Talking about his fitness, he said he is “feeling good” and the last three days of training has helped him reach the grove ahead of the limited overs series.
Speaking about the Edgbaston defeat, he said: “You want that hunger to last all the time. I definitely see that hunger in the group. Disappointed not to come out from the winning side.
India, led by their new captain Jos Buttler, will take on England in the first of three T20Is in Southampton, followed by a three-match ODI series.
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