Umran Malik 'breath of fresh' air for pace bowling: Whatmore

Srinagar, May 29 (PTI) Former Australian cricketer and World Cup-winning coach Dav Whatmore on Sunday said Umran Malik was a breath of fresh air in the world of pace bowling and expressed hope that the 22-year-old goes from strength to strength.

Whatmore, who arrived in Srinagar as part of a camp at a private school here, said many youngsters from J-K would like to emulate the pace sensation.

“Umran Malik is a breath of fresh air for the speed and pace bowling. He has been wonderful to the point that he was retained by his (IPL) franchise which is a big thing. I am sure there are a lot of youngsters in this state that would like to emulate Malik,” the cricketer, who has in past coached Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh among other teams, told reporters.

He congratulated Malik for being selected in the India cricket team “Let’s hope he does well. Congratulations to him for being selected in the Indian squad. We all hope that he goes from strength to strength,” Whatmore said.

Asked about his favourites for the IPL final match to be played between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans, Whatmore said it is really good for the IPL for those two teams to be playing in the finals.

“I am not sure which way to go. There are good reasons for both to win the IPL. Maybe later in the day, I will have some leaning, but both are very very good teams,” he said.

Whatmore, who was part of the Australian squad which played a match here in 1979, expressed hope that his second visit to the valley would not be his last.

“I played a match here in 1979 when Australia toured India and there was a match in Srinagar. I remember that was the first game on the tour, so that was my first experience of Srinagar,” he said. “That was wonderful. This is my second visit here and I hope it is not last.”