Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has advised young pacer from Jammu and Kashmir Umran Malik to take care of his body so that he can break his long standing record. Incidentally, Malik has been grabbing eyeballs with his raw pace in the ongoing IPL 2022.
Akhtar, who was one of the fastest bowlers not only of his era but of all time, is mightly impressed with the youngster. The Pakistani speedster has the record of the fastest ball bowled in an international match, when he bowled over 100 miles an hour (160 kmph). Since then he has held the record to his name and no bowler has been able to breach this record.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Shoaib Akhtar admitted that he will be happy if Umran Malik breaks his record for the fastest ball in the history of cricket. The 46-year-old cricket expert said:
“For the first time I have seen someone who is bowling 150kmph+ consistently and I will be happy if he (Umran) breaks my record (of fastest delivery). Tode, jarur tode, and bagiar apne ko tode huae tode, (break, definitely break, but not yourself). I want to see his long career. Only a few days back, someone was saying to me that it has been 20 years and your record is still not broken. But I believe records are meant to be broken and I will be happy if he (Umran) does that.”
Want to see him on the world stage – Shoaib Akhtar on Umran Malik
Shoaib Akhtar hopes that he continues to play at the highest level for a long time and no injury halts his career. The 46-year-old has expressed that he wants to see the youngster play for India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that will take place in Australia later this year.
“I want to see him on the world stage because that is where he belongs to. I definitely want him to keep this 100mph mark in his mind and join that special club,” he added.
Umran Malik has a bright future ahead and already has impressed some legends of the game with his performances in this season’s IPL. He has picked up 18 wickets in 12 matches, including a five-wicket haul.
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