Umran Malik ignored for Asia Cup: What went wrong for the Jammu pacer?

Umran Malik, the exciting pacer from Jammu, who impressed everyone in IPL 2022 has disappeared from the international arena soon after his debut. The 22 year-old played only three T20Is before he was dropped from the team. Malik made his international T20I debut against Ireland in June, but failed to impress with his bowling. In three matches, his economy rate was 12.44 and could take only 2 wickets. 

He was touted to be a crucial player for India for T20 World Cup this year. But, after finding no mention in the Asia Cup squad, it seems difficult for him to make it to the World Cup squad.

The question is, where did Malik falter and lost his place in the Indian squad? Here are two possible reasons:   

1. Umran's line and length: Though Umran bowls around 157 kmph quite often, he also leaks a lot of runs. For example, in a T20I game against England, Malik conceded 56 runs in his spell with only 1 wicket. He was hit all around the ground by Jos Butler, Dawid Malan and later Chris Jordan. He became the most expensive Indian bowler in the match.

This was also a reason why he went wicketless in four consecutive matches while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri, speaking to Times Now, had said: "The pace is good, but you got to get it in your mind that you have to get it in the right areas. If you don't get it right, you are going to fetch and fetch big time."

2. Inexperience: Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal had said that Umran should be played first in Test cricket so that he learns the craft of taking wickets. Talking to Sports Tak, Madan Lal said: "Speed won't be of much use if you don't take wickets and you don't move the ball. He is inexperienced and that experience will come from playing Test matches."

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra also believes that Umran should first get hands-on experience of international cricket. Speaking on his Youtube channel, he said: "No doubt, he has the pace. But what I feel is that Umran is not ready for international cricket as of now. It is very simple. He needs time. He hasn't played a lot of cricket and is still raw."

What's next for Umran: The Jammu pacer doesn't have any county or domestic cricket contract to stage a comeback. So, he is playing in the JKCA Senior Multi-Day Cup tournament in Jammu. His IPL mate Abdul Samad will also play in the tournament.

As of now, he only has this platform to prove his quality once again. The T20 World Cup looks a distant dream for Umran as of now but he can still make a comeback because he is very young.