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Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer claimed that speedster Umran Malik may not be the most effective player in the shortest of all formats. The pacer from Jammu & Kashmir has been named in India's T20I squad against Sri Lanka, but Jaffer feels he may not play in the first T20I at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Umran had a breakout IPL 2022 season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and seemed to be fast-tracked into the Indian T20I team. However, in just three matches, he recorded an overall economy rate of 12.44 and was dropped from the T20 World Cup plans.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo ahead of the first T20I, Wasim Jaffer explained why Umran Malik may not start for India. He said:
"I hope Harshal Patel finds a way to make a comeback. Umran Malik may not have T20 cricket as his best format, but nonetheless, he is an exciting talent and this is an exciting season before the IPL."
Jaffer further justified Harshal Patel's inclusion in place of Umran Malik by adding:
"I was tempted to include Umran Malik in my XI because you would like to have a pacer who bowls at 145-150 clicks. But Harshal Patel gives you that experience and also gives the depth in batting. You also have Hardik as your this seamer and then have 3-4 all-rounders that give you better balance."
Wasim Jaffer on Yuzvendra Chahal's importance
The Wankhede Stadium is one of the highest-scoring grounds in India and the main reason for that is arguably its smaller dimensions compared to other stadiums.
Wasim Jaffer feels that on such pitches, having a wrist-spinner like Yuvzendra Chahal is crucial because he can deceive the batters and get some important breakthroughs. On this, he stated:
"Yuzvendra Chahal is crucial for India in the middle-overs as he has the ability to give crucial breakthroughs. Whenever left-handers bat, captains are reluctant to give the ball to a left-arm spinner and similar is the case with off-spinner when right-hander bats. Wankhede's dimensions are also pretty small and so it is crucial to have a wrist spinner like Chahal."
India’s squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
