If you use Umran Malik too much, he will cut down pace: Munaf Patel

My advice as a 21-year old to Umran would be: Jaao aur josh se ball phenko. Yehi hai. Watching him run in to bowl, I feel like bowling too. It is so good to see such kids getting opportunities in the IPL. The scouts that go out to spot talent… It feels good that the world’s biggest league is benefitting our players, especially those who come from small places. Otherwise who knows how he would have come in and where he would have played. Now he is the league’s fastest bowler, and that makes me very happy.
The BCCI should not wait for him to perform in the domestic circuit and then bring him into the Indian team. You take him as the 17th member of the squad if you want, but do take him along. He will learn about the culture and various situations and will learn to adapt if he stays around with everyone. It is something that has to be done.
Handle with care
When I first came on to the scene, social media wasn’t as big as it is now but there was certainly excitement around. It is a natural reaction if somebody comes up from a small place where there is no infrastructure. Umran has come up the same way I did. You need to take good care of him. He will last long only if the BCCI does that.

All heart and sheer pace! 🔝 🔥🔥#UmranMalik pic.twitter.com/jah3VSdpx8
— Washington Sundar (@Sundarwashi5) April 27, 2022
If you see, Zaheer Khan had also arrived as a 145-plus bowler, Ashish Nehra was there, I was there, VRV Singh was there, Ishant Sharma was also quick when he came in. At present you have guys like Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini. There needs to be a system in place where there is a restriction on the number of matches a fast bowler plays in a year. Now, of course, technology has advanced in terms of physiotherapy and training, but still you will have to take care of him. If you use him too much, then chances are he will suffer a big injury and that means he will then have to start managing his pace. But right now, he is bowling like soney pe suhaaga.
The importance of Steyn
Dale Steyn is with him right now, so he will get to learn a lot. That will make a huge difference. Steyn is a genuine man, he is not egoic. And he used to bowl 145 himself. Whatever he can pick up from Steyn, he should. And because he is from a small place, he is like a blank paper, you can write what you want on it. He will do as Steyn says.

“Like teacher, like student” 😅😍
A nostalgic celebration from the youngster 💥🔥@DaleSteyn62 #DaleSteyn #UmranMalik #SRH #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/SoDXiPlpK5
— Gourab Jena (@SrkGourab) April 28, 2022
At that age, you do not know anything. You are from a small place, and not that mature, so you feel like you should learn from this person and that person and so on. The fact that he will be with Steyn for a few months now is a golden period for him. Jitna unsey lapet sakein, lapet lein (Whatever he can soak in, he should). This is the age to learn as well as bowl. I don’t think there will be a better opportunity for him in life than this.
The way he is going, he will travel to the next Test venue (with the Indian team). But there is so much competition in Indian cricket that once you get sidelined, it takes time to make a comeback. We have so many fast bowlers. So it is not like that they will keep playing you if you do not do well.
Adding line and length
If he can focus more on line and length, like Steyn had, then no one can stop him, and the rest is then down to his fitness. You will have to sacrifice some pace. Firstly you have to bowl in our conditions, which are not ideal for fast bowling. You either have to make it reverse or bowl with the new ball, that’s it. Most of the work is done the spinners.
Even Steyn used to bowl 150 when he started playing international cricket. But thereafter he would hover around 140. But he had swing, and he would bowl in South Africa. So Umran will have to add that (line and length). If he can do it at the same pace, nothing can be greater than that. But even if he loses a few yards and can swing it at 145, that is excellent.
If you remain hell-bent that I will not cut down my pace no matter what, it won’t work. You look at VRV or Varun Aaron. But that is only after a certain age or if you are hampered injuries. If you are around 30, and if you can adjust yourself around 135-137 kph, you will be able to survive. Otherwise, I don’t believe in cutting down on pace. Definitely not at his age.
He will have to focus a lot on his fitness. You use so much strength and it takes so much out of your body… if you have to play multi-day cricket, you will have to do it. He will have to adopt specialised training, which the BCCI anyway has these days.
He has a smooth action. It is not an action that puts too much stress on the body, like Shaun Tait’s or Lasith Malinga’s did. It is like Steyn’s or Brett Lee’s. It can be sustained for a long time. Right now, it is very natural for him. But over a period of time, there is always a chance of breaking down. But if he trains well, then it won’t happen.
Learning from the IPL
He needs to play the IPL. If you don’t, there are far fewer people watching you. If you do not play the world’s biggest league, what is the point? There is so much to learn in the IPL. Like the bowler (Marco Jansen) who gave 25 runs (in the last over against Gujarat Titans) was the man of the match in the previous game (against Royal Challengers Bangalore). It teaches you that you will be down one day and up the next.
Should a special fast bowler be played only in overseas Tests? Well, it is difficult to play someone only in overseas Tests. We go to England once in four years, so you cannot have Bumrah, for instance, on the bench in between. You can certainly use Umran on some of the good wickets for pacers in India such as Mumbai. You need pace to generate reverse swing anyway. If your bowlers are not generating pace, they will not get reverse swing. So even in India, you need players who can bowl fast.
(As told to Abhishek Purohit).