India vs Sri Lanka: Former India player Wasim Jaffer hopes to see Harshal Patel make a comeback in the Indian side ahead of Umran Malik. Patel, who did not have a good 2022 season will hope to make a strong case for himself.
In Short
- India are taking on Sri Lanka in a 3-match T20I series
- Suryakumar Yadav has been named as the vice-captain of the team
- India have several pace bowling options in their side for the SL series
PosterGuy: Former India player Wasim Jaffer has said that T20 cricket might not be Umran Malik’s best format. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo ahead of India’s T20I series against Sri Lanka, Jaffer said that he hopes to see Harshal Patel make a comeback into the Indian side.
“I hope Harshal Patel finds a way to make a comeback. Umran Malik may not have T20 cricket as his best format, but nonetheless, he is an exciting talent and this is an exciting season before the IPL,” Jaffer said ahead of the first T20I match.
The former opening batter explained his call and said that he wished to include Malik in the team but Harshal Patel pipped the Jammu and Kashmir pacer due to his experience and batting depth.
“I was tempted to include Umran Malik in my XI because you would like to have a pacer who bowls at 145-150 clicks. But Harshal Patel gives you that experience and also gives the depth in batting. You also have Hardik as your this seamer and then have 3-4 all-rounders that give you better balance,” Jaffer explained in ESPNcricinfo.
Ahead of the 1st match, Malik said that he will break Shoaib Akhtar’s record of fastest delivery in the world, but is not concentrating on that at the moment. The fast bowler further added that his focus was to bowl in the right areas which results in wickets for his team.
“You don’t get to realize how fast you’ve bowled during the match. It’s only when we come back after the game when we get to know how fast I was. During the game, my only focus is on bowling in the right areas and picking up wickets,” Malik explained.
Also Read: India vs Sri Lanka: Yuzvendra Chahal eyes milestone at home as leg-spinner gears up for T20I series