Umran Malik has been the talk of the town this IPL as the SunRisers Hyderabad pacer has impressed many cricket fans, followers and even ex-cricketers with his raw pace and verve. Malik has been great form for SRH, picking up 15 wickets so far. He is the second highest wicket taker for the franchise in IPL 2022 behind T Natarajan and many believe he should be fast tracked to international cricket.

Former Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath, who was known more for his impeccable line and length and not pace, recently spoke about how Umran can break into any team in the world.

Sheer pace is important but Umran Malik has to be prepared to put the work in to get that control and if he can combine control with that sheer pace then he’ll get into any team in the world,” McGrath told Sportstar.

McGrath also said that Umran’s real test will be how he performs in the next few seasons when he will not be a surprise package for the batters anymore and also said that Umran will have to work on his fitness as well.

“It’s about doing well in the second season and third season, once the batters get to know your bowling. When you are bowling 150 kmph-plus, that’s a lot of stress on the body and if you don’t put the work off the field to keep yourself strong, sooner or later you are going to break. When you are sitting and watching from the sidelines and they’re not picking you anymore, it’s not much fun,” McGrath added.

“They say it’s hard work to get to the top but you should work twice as hard once you get there. That’s where a few cricketers, mainly bowlers, probably let themselves down. They do well in the IPL or get an [international] cap and they think they have made it. That’s when the hard work should start if they want to stay there and be successful. Bumrah — he puts in so much work off the field to stay strong, as do so many other bowlers,” the former Aussie legend added