3 reasons why Umran Malik should replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad

Jasprit Bumrah's untimely injury has left a gaping role in India's T20 World Cup plans. Not only is the 28-year-old the leader of Rohit Sharma's bowling attack, but he's also a rare pacer who could bowl at any stage of the match in any format.

In the absence of another senior pacer, Mohammed Shami, India tried Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj, but neither fit in. Moreover, the trio of Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh didn't seem to have worked either.

Below, we'll discuss three reasons why India should consider Umran Malik, who's reportedly one of the reserve players, for the role ahead of the World Cup.

India don't have an express pacer

With 157 kmph, 155.6 kmph and 154.8 kmph, Umran had three of the five fastest deliveries bowled in IPL 2022 to his name.

None of Chahar, Patel, or Arshdeep can clock over 140 kmph consistently. Umran is often erratic and his pace comes at the cost of his accuracy, but Siraj and Umesh aren't too different in that aspect, though with a slower top speed.

India need variety in their attack. Chahar is brilliant in the powerplay; Arshdeep, with some improvement, can be a powerplay and death specialist; Harshal, though lacks form, will be a handful on slow wickets as the tournament progresses.

Currently, there's no one in the team to rush the batters on fast and bouncy pitches that Australia will likely put up, at least at the start. In the host team, almost every pacer can do it. All other teams have at least one such bowler too.

On grounds with long boundaries and green tracks, his pace and bounce will catch many a batter by surprise.

Umran Malik could be a threat in the middle overs

In T20Is, Bumrah is often seen as someone who would bowl a few overs in the powerplay and then the rest at the death. This, though true, overlooks the fact that his accuracy always gives his captain the luxury to use him in the middle overs, whether to slow the tempo of an innings or to target a new batter with pace.

Neither Chahar nor Arshdeep have bowled much in the middle overs. Harshal was the second-highest wicket-taker in the phase in IPL 2022 with 10 victims. Ahead of him was only Umran, with almost double the tally - 19 wickets at an average of 19.78.

Umran, with his pace and ability to unsettle new batters in the middle overs, provides an aggressive option. His rotation with spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin could prove to be too good for some teams in Australia.

Risk/reward ratio

Picking Umran ahead of Siraj would be a risk as the latter has been in equally good recent form and is more experienced. Siraj also has the experience of bowling in Australia, though most of it in the 2021-22 Test series.

Siraj's recent performances in T20 cricket, including the IPL, have shown he's not as good in the shortest format as he's in red-ball cricket. Umran, meanwhile, has been a superb four-over bowler who's also improving in other formats.

The Kasmiri pacer will also bring in an element of novelty to India - a player who, despite the glut of data and footage available, not many teams have seen of.

It might be too early for Umran to gage the weight of the stage he'll be playing at. But as the young team who won India their only T20 World Cup in 2007 showed, a lack of baggage and a youthful 'nothing-to-lose' attitude isn't always a bad thing.

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