"Far from Shoaib's record" - Salman Butt on whether Umran Malik can break former Pakistan pacer's record

Salman Butt feels young Indian pacer Umran Malik is miles away from breaking former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar's record for the fastest delivery. Akhtar scripted history when he clocked 161.3 kmph against England in Cape Town in 2003.

Umran, meanwhile, has been touted for his express speed ever since he broke into the scene during IPL 2021 in SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) colors. A season later, the Jammu and Kashmir-born pacer grabbed all eyes, bowling a 157 kmph thunderbolt against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

The youngster clocked 155 kmph during the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka, which was the fastest by an Indian.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt reckoned that Umran and Pakistan's Haris Rauf are far from breaking Akhtar's record. The former Pakistan skipper also stressed that both pacers lack the uniqueness that Akhtar showed while playing across three formats.

“As of now, they both are far from Shoaib's record," he said. "But again, records are meant to be broken. So who knows? But Shoaib used to play all three formats and used to bowl long spells.

"He just wasn't fast, he was a clever bowler. He knew how to dismiss batters, even in Test cricket. Even when he was 39 years of age when he played his last game in India. he clocked 159. He could bowl that fast even with a six-step run-up. The uniqueness that he carried, I don't see that in Umran or Haris. But they are both young, so anything can happen."

Umran finished as the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, picking up seven wickets in three matches at an average of 15.14.

He will next be seen in action during the three-match ODI rubber against the Lankans, which gets underway in Guwahati on Tuesday, January 10.

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India and Sri Lanka squad for ODI series

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Sri Lanka squad: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dasun Shanaka (c), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Dunith Wellalage, Lahiru Kumara, Jeffrey Vandersay, and Pramod Madushan.

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