"A little better management is required" - Aakash Chopra on Umran Malik being dropped for India vs West Indies T20Is
Aakash Chopra feels Umran Malik needs to be managed better by the Indian team management and selectors.
Malik was handed his Team India debut in the T20I series against Ireland, where he played a couple of matches against them and another against England in the recently concluded series. However, the express pacer has been left out of the 18-member squad for the upcoming T20Is against the West Indies.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said about Malik's exclusion:
"Umran Malik is not there. He has not been rested, but he is not there. What are you doing with Umran, that's a question that must be asked. You should, of course, talk to him, and a little better management is required."
The former Indian batter pointed out that he had opined during the IPL that the Jammu speedster was not yet ready for the international game. Chopra observed:
"During the IPL, I had said that he is not yet ready for international cricket. Ian Bishop and a lot of other people were there, and they just shot me down. They asked me what I was saying."
While acknowledging that Malik is extremely talented, Chopra added that the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer is still not a finished product, elaborating:
"I had said to keep him with the team but that he is not fully ready for international cricket, that's what I thought personally at that point in time. You are still standing there, that he is a work in progress; he is an amazing talent, bowls extremely fast."
Umran Malik has picked up just two wickets in the three T20Is he has played to date. He has also been extremely expensive, having been taken for an average of 12.44 runs per over in these games.
"That's not right" - Aakash Chopra on Umran Malik dropped for West Indies T20Is
Aakash Chopra said that Umran Malik should not have been dropped from the Indian squad. He explained:
"At one point, you made him part of all teams, and now he is part of none. That's not right because you are going to West Indies, it is possible he is sent to Zimbabwe. If you feel he is ready; stick with him. If you feel he is not ready, then take him forward slowly, but don't drop him from the team."
Umran Malik isn’t there in any of the two squads. ODI and T20i. I’m pretty sure that he’s been spoken to already…because it’ll be all about nurturing his talent going forward.
Malik is unlikely to be in the selectors' scheme of things for the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year. While the tearaway pacer might be in the think tank's long-term plans, they might be looking to finalise their seam-bowling attack for the global event now.