Umran Malik has garnered immense praise from all corners of the world ever since his thunderbolts started shattering the woodwork of even the best batters in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Clocking 150 kmph on a regular basis, Umran Malik has made life difficult for batters to score against him. The pacer has gained a lot of fans and many think that he has everything in him to represent the country one day. This includes Umran's father Abdul Rashid. Speaking to TOI, Rashid spoke candidly about his son's ambitions in the sport and what he thinks he can achieve.
In an interesting anecdote, Rashid also revealed an incident which had made Umran really happy.
It was the time when former Indian captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli spoke highly of Umran Malik and stated that the pacer could be the "future of Indian cricket".
"Umran discussed some of those things with me. MS Dhoni is a legend of the game. Virat Kohli is also a great cricketer. Umran met both of them. They have told Umran that he is the future of Indian cricket. When Umran called me to share this with me, he was extremely happy. He was elated after listening to those golden words from the two legends of the game," Rashid said.
Umran Malik's father added that one day, he wants his son to represent India and play the World Cup.
"My only dream now is to see my son in an Indian team jersey. I want him to play in the World Cup someday. I am sure he will. He has reached this level and I am confident he will get there very soon. He will make the entire country proud," he added.
Not only Kohli and Dhoni, but many other former Indian players have been awestruck by Umran's ability with the ball.
Recently, Sunil Gavaskar also revealed how Umran had impressed him with his speed and accuracy.
"Umran Malik has been very, very impressive with his speed but more than his speed, it's his accuracy (that's impressed). A lot of guys who bowl at that speed tend to spray the ball around but Umran bowls very few wide deliveries," said Gavaskar on Cricket Live on Star Sports.