Umran Malik, who was called up for the ODI and T20I series of the West Indies tour despite his unsuccessful performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season, would be seeking to make a comeback for the Indian side.
Malik will be hoping that everything falls into place, but former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg thinks that this series will be important for the Indian fast to secure his spot in the Indian side with the ODI World Cup rapidly approaching.
The last time the Jammu and Kashmir pacer played for India in a limited-overs match was during the domestic series against New Zealand. The 23-year-old has taken 13 and 11 wickets in the two formats, respectively, over the course of his eight ODI and eight T20I appearances. According to Hogg, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh will both be key players in the next white-ball series against the Caribbean team.
“Pandya is having some difficulty with his bat, but he has the ability; he has demonstrated it in the past. For Arshdeep to create, I believe this will be a crucial series. Umran Malik’s upcoming series will serve as a lesson for him after the IPL, in my opinion. He’ll see that it’s not just about the pace, Hogg stated in a video posted to his YouTube page.
Future T20 World Cup prospects include the following: Brad Hogg
In place of the team’s normal captain, Rohit Sharma, Hardik will serve as captain for the T20I series. As Jasprit Bumrah’s injury prevents him from playing, India will consider other opportunities. In an effort to look forward to Bumrah for the ODI World Cup 2023, the selection of Umran, Arshdeep, and Mukesh Kumar to the squad amply demonstrates the selectors’ viewpoint.
“I really like the selectors’ approach there; they went for youth; they want to see what is emerging; they want to give them international experience and more opportunities moving forward with the T20 World Cup,” Hogg continued.
The ODI World Cup 2023, which is set to take place in India in October and November, will now be the Men in Blue’s primary focus. The search for emerging talent by Indian selectors has already started with more than a year until the next 20-over World Cup.