The recent announcement of the Indian squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has raised eyebrows, particularly due to the absence of the promising fast bowler Umran Malik.
The BCCI, on Thursday (30th November), unveiled the Indian squad for the T20Is, ODIs, and Tests against South Africa. The list included a blend of seasoned players and fresh faces, signaling the board’s commitment to nurturing young talents. However, amidst the excitement, the omission of Umran Malik became a notable point of contention.
Umran Malik’s exclusion from both the Indian squad and the India A squad came as a surprise to many cricket enthusiasts. The young speedster, who had been in the limelight not long ago, found himself out of the reckoning. The decision left fans pondering the factors that led to this unexpected turn of events.
Having displayed promising performances earlier, Umran Malik was even considered for the ICC World Cup 2023. However, recent struggles in the West Indies series, marked by expensive spells and a lack of wickets, cast a shadow on his selection. Despite being one of the country’s fastest pacers, doubts emerged about his consistency and effectiveness on the field.
Irfan Pathan, expressing his dissatisfaction, took to social media to voice his concerns. The former Indian cricketer questioned the logic behind excluding a player who had been a regular part of the Indian team just a few months ago.
Pathan’s statement on his X account read, “I’m pretty sure the guy who was in the Indian team’s playing 11 a few months back can surely find a place in India A side.”
I’m pretty sure the guy who was in the Indian team’s playing 11 few months back can surely find a place in India A side. #umranmalik
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 30, 2023
Umran Malik, having played 10 ODIs and 8 T20Is, holds a decent record with 13 and 11 wickets in the respective formats. However, his absence from Test matches raises questions about his adaptability to the longer format. As the cricketing fraternity awaits clarity on his future, speculations about the road ahead for Umran Malik are rife.
India A will be playing two four-day matches on their tour to South Africa. Apart from this, they also will be playing one inter-squad three-day game.
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India A squad for the 1st four-day match:
Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran*, Devdutt Padikkal, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Sarfaraz Khan, KS Bharat (C)(wk), Dhruv Jurel, Shardul Thakur, Pulkit Narang, Sourabh Kumar, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Tushar Deshpande.
India Inter-squad three-day match:
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran*, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pulkit Narang, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur, Sourabh Kumar, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini.
India A squad for 3rd four-day match:
Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran*, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KS Bharat (C)(wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Navdeep Saini.
