Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Umran Malik has become the biggest talking point among the Indian squad after he got selected for the five-match T20I series at home against South Africa. As fans await to see him play for the country, Malik celebrated his maiden India call-up with none other than his mentor Irfan Pathan.
Taking to social media, Pathan shared some photos wherein Malik can be seen cutting a cake as part of their “tiny celebration”. The toast seems to be happening inside a hotel room. Along with Malik and Pathan, SRH all-rounder Abdul Samad is also seen attending the bash.
Umran Malik (centre) with Irfan Pathan (far right) after earning maiden India call-up.
On Sunday, BCCI named an 18-member squad for the T20I series against South Africa, in which the Kashmir-born pacer earned his maiden India call-up. His selection was made after an impressive performance in the Indian Premier League 2022.
Check the post here:
The former India fast-bowler also shared a heart-warming video on his Instagram handle. In the clip, the trio can be seen enjoying the cake and feeding each other. “Big congratulations to you buddy @umran_malik_1 may you make your debut inspirational for all the kids back in Jammu and Kashmir and throughout the country and for @abdulsamad Apna time aaega,” (sic) Pathan captioned his post. Check video here:
In the ongoing tournament, Malik has been outstanding and grabbed attention with his ability to clock 150-plus kmph in most of his deliveries. In his 14 matches played for Hyderabad this season, the 22-year-old bowler picked 22 wickets at an average of 20.18 and a best of 5/25.
In every match that he played, Malik was awarded with the fastest delivery. At present, he holds the fastest delivery of 157 kmph in the match against Delhi Capitals on 5 May this IPL.
Below is the list of T20I Squad for South Africa Series:
KL Rahul (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Umran Malik.