T20 World Cup: Umran Malik and Kuldeep Sen’s departure to Australia delayed due to visa issues
Indian pacer Umran Malik’s departure to Australia for the T20 World Cup has been delayed due to visa issues. The speedster has been named as one of the designated net bowlers for the tournament Down Under. It is currently unclear when Umran will board the flight to Australia.
He is currently playing for Jammu and Kashmir in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Meghalaya in the Elite Group C match at Mohali.
Speaking to Sportstar, Brigadier Anil Gupta, administrator of the JKCA, said:
“Due to some issues, Umran’s travel to Australia has been delayed and the BCCI has released him for at least the first game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beginning Tuesday.”
He added:
“We will take it match-by-match. For now, he will be available for the first game.”
Umran first garnered attention with his sheer pace in IPL 2021. He registered the fastest delivery in the history of the IPL delivered by an Indian bowler when he touched a speed of 157kmph this year. The 22-year-old could benefit Team India’s preparations on the bouncy pitches in Australia.
The 22-year-old made his T20I debut against Ireland in June 2022. He has picked two wickets in three matches, including 1/56 against England in his last T20I against England.
After Umran Malik, Kuldeep Sen’s departure also delayed
Kuldeep Sen’s departure has also been delayed. It remains to be seen if he will feature for Madhya Pradesh in the SMAT against Rajasthan in Rajkot on Tuesday. The right-arm fast bowler picked up eight wickets for the Rest of India against Saurashtra in the recently concluded Irani Cup, including a fifer. He also scalped three wickets for India A against New Zealand A in September.
The Rajasthan Royals pacer took eight wickets in seven matches in IPL 2022.
Initially, Mohammad Siraj was also scheduled to fly as a net bowler with the Indian squad in Perth on October 6. However, the seamer got picked for the ODIs against South Africa.
Umran and Sen are likely to depart for Australia with the standby players – Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar (currently injured) and Ravi Bishnoi on October 12.
Meanwhile, India won their first practice match against Western Australia XI by 13 runs on Monday. They will face the same opposition on Thursday (October 13). The Men in Blue will also play a couple of warm-up matches against Australia (October 17) and New Zealand (October 19).
Rohit Sharma and Co. will finally begin their Super 12 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday (October 23).