"It's A Sad Thing...": Sunil Gavaskar Worried How Umran Malik And Other Express Pacers Have Exposed Young Indian Batters
India great Sunil Gavaskar is happy that fast bowlers like Umran have emerged in Indian cricket but is also concerned about the way young Indian batters are facing these fast bowlers
Umran Malik has emerged as one of the best fast bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Along with the SunRisers Hyderabad fast bowler, Lucknow Super Giants' Mohsin Khan, Rajasthan Royals' Kuldeep Sen and Gujarat Titans' Yash Dayal have also impressed among the crop of young Indian pacers who are playing in the ongoing season of the IPL. India great Sunil Gavaskar is happy that fast bowlers like Umran have emerged in Indian cricket but is also concerned about the way young Indian batters are facing these fast bowlers.
"Pace is something which we always stand up and admire. But along with the pace to have that kind of accuracy is what separates him (Umran) from the others. Yes, he bowls 150-plus but generally he bowls about 145kmph. There are two-three other bowlers like Mohsin, Kuldip. So, there are bowlers but they are not as accurate as Umran is. So, when you are accurate, you are not giving the batsmen any chance," Gavaskar said on Star Sports after the SRH-MI IPL 2022 match on Tuesday.
"He is so quick you don't know what to do. In a way, it's a sad thing what he has done and what Mohsin (Khan) has done, Kuldip (Sen) has done and (Yash) Dayal as well. All these guys bowling 140-plus, they have exposed a lot of young Indian batsmen. Which is a little bit sad from the Indian cricket point of view.
"Guys who look very good in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, the other domestic T20 competition, which is only for the national players. A lot of players are going around and smashing the ball around because they are not playing this kind of pace. They are not playing this quality bowling. Suddenly, now they come here and they don't know what to do because instead of going like this (on front foot) suddenly they have to go to the back foot. Which they have not done at all. For one delivery, they might not have done it. They might have transferred their weight. So, while the exciting part is Umran coming through, the little worrying part is lot of the young players at home, we are saying that 'ok these guys can do the job, once the seniors go' they really have to work hard on their game to fill in those boots."
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunil Gavaskar