Legendary Australia pacer Brett Lee has urged tearaway pacer Umran Malik to be included in India’s playing XI for the upcoming 3rd ODI against Australia. With the series evenly poised at 1-1 ahead of the finale, Lee feels that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star’s raw pace is a rare skill set, further batting for Malik’s inclusion in Test cricket as well.
In the second ODI of the series, Australian openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head took Indian bowlers to the cleaners as the visitors romped their way to a remarkable 10-wicket win in Visakhapatnam.
However, the Indian bowlers had little room for error after an astonishing collapse from the batters, which saw Rohit Sharma and Co slump to a meagre total of 117 after being invited to bat first.
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Earlier in the first ODI, India had suffered a similar collapse but KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja came to the home side’s rescue following fiery spells from Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj however, there the entire bowling unit returned wicketless in the second ODI.
Speaking to Sports Tak, Bret Lee felt that Umran should have played in the T20 World Cup last year, and he could possibly be given a chance in the longest format as well.
“I like him. Get him in. Why not? (Inclusion in Test cricket). I said he should have played the World Cup last year in Australia. Didn’t take him at the start but he should have been there,” said the Aussie legend.
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In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Lee feels that the 23-year-old Malik should be an automatic choice.
“He would have been the first pick in my team because raw pace is very hard to harness. You got to look after them but you’ve also got to throw him in the deep end at some time. Get him out there, allow him to play and let him scare a few batters around the world,” added the veteran pacer.
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