IND vs SA, 1st T20I: Umran Malik may break Javagal Srinath's 25-year-old record

Umran Malik has emerged as the fastest Indian bowler in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) where he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad. Riding on his fast and furious bowling display in the cash-rich league, the J&K pacer received his maiden India call up for the India vs South Africa T20I series. Umran who is likely to make India's debut in the first T20I could break Javagal Srinath's 25-year-old record of bowling the fastest bowl in international cricket by an Indian. 

pic.twitter.com/V9ySL4JKDl — BCCI (@BCCI) June 8, 2022

Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Umran bowled the second fastest delivery of IPL 2022 when he clocked 157 kmph during his team's match against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium, on May 5. The 22-year-old achieved the feat on the fourth ball of the 20th over. If he bowls with the same speed then he will be India's fastest bowler in the history of international cricket. He will break the record of former India pacer Javagal Srinath, who clocked 149.6 kmph against Australia in 1997. 

In an interview with BCCI, Umran revealed how he felt after receiving the maiden India call up. “Thanks to god, I got an India call-up as it was my dream to play for the country.  I was very excited as I joined Team India and practised with everyone. I was positive that I would be able to bowl well, I was confident. The team environment is healthy as everyone is like brothers after we played together in the IPL," he said. 

pic.twitter.com/AFaZ2XTuNn — BCCI (@BCCI) June 7, 2022

On the other hand, there are still question marks on his debut in the first T20I as India coach Rahul Dravid hinted that Umran might not make it to the playing XI for the Thursday game. "Watching Umran in the nets even yesterday, he has got that pace. He is a young boy who is learning all the time. He is getting better and improving all the time. The more games he is able to play, the better he is going to get. From our perspective, I am very happy to have someone like him in the mix. We just have to see how much playing time we will be able to give him. We also have to be realistic, we have got a really large squad. It's not possible to give everyone playing XI time," Dravid said in the pre-match press conference.