It is tempting for India to pick Umran Malik in the World Cup squad but the fast bowler is still a work in progress, writes Sarah Waris.

The visual of Virat Kohli left open-eyed and in awe as Malik broke through his Indian Premier League team’s batting attack in 2021 was the exact moment the cricketing world woke up to the wonders of Umran Malik. Having led the charge for transforming the fortunes of the Indian Test team by stacking up the bowling resources and for promoting the idea of a diverse pace attack in a culture that backed heavy batting, Kohli knew what he was seeing.

But with little domestic cricket behind him, question marks remained over Malik’s ability to replicate his heroics repeatedly on the international stage. The 2022 season, where he picked up 22 wickets, sealed it for him and he made his India debut in July that year during the T20I series against Ireland.

He had to wait until after the T20 World Cup to make his ODI debut, receiving his cap during the opening game against New Zealand.

After nine innings, Malik’s career record says 13 wickets at an average of 30.69 with an economy rate of 6.54 – numbers that do not immediately make you stop and stare like Kohli had two years ago. But there’s more, as his strike rate of 28.1 indicates. Only two India quicks with at least five wickets since Malik’s debut have a better strike rate than him, and so, even when he is at his most expensive, he finds a way to get those breakthroughs.

The moments of brilliance have been few but have left an impact. During an ODI against Bangladesh last year, Malik bowled a devastating spell to Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Shanto, dismissing the latter with an inward angle from around the wicket. He also troubled Shakib with his high speed deliveries, forcing him to remain rooted in his crease.

Malik continues holding onto his speeds but he is soon realising the limitations of the phrase ‘pace is pace’, which was, ironically, used in abundance and highlighted in every social media caption as he rose up the ranks.

At this point in his career he is still liable to erring too often in both length and line while he also has limited swing movement. With two new balls being used in ODIs, Malik is unlikely to get huge amounts of reverse swing, which has limited him to being a middle-overs enforcer for India.

10 of his 13 wickets have come between overs 11-34, with Rohit Sharma carefully introducing him after the initial new-ball burst in the series against Sri Lanka this year. He has fared well in this phase as well, averaging 21 with an economy rate of 5.60. He picks up a wicket every 22.5 balls and has sent down a dot ball percentage of 59. In contrast, Malik has an economy rate of 8.83 in the six overs that he has bowled in the powerplay, which increases to 9.40 in the last fifteen.

However, Shardul Thakur has been excelling in the very same role for the past few seasons and also provides more options. The all-rounder has taken 35 wickets in the middle overs since 2020, the most among all quicks. His economy rate is an impressive 4.85, and while he rarely bowls in other phases either, he has done the job when called upon in the past. With Thakur, there is also the added bonus of batting depth.

Prasidh Krishna, returning from injury, is a hit-the-deck bowler, which makes him an ideal candidate for the middle overs as well. He too can be effective across all phases. Kohli had also singled out the Karnataka quick three years ago, claiming that his pace and bounce made him an X-factor bowler, and his comeback along with Jasprit Bumrah’s for the Ireland T20Is is just what Indian cricket needed.

Malik is not the finished article just yet, a fact admitted by Sitanshu Kotak, the India A coach, but he is taking rapid strides. With not much professional cricket to his name, Malik has to learn on the go. Incorporating the cross-seam in order to get reverse swing and improve his bowling at the death is a start. But he could also learn the art of changing his speeds to set batters up.

Pace is, well, pace, at the end of the day, and the prospect of Malik bowling fast at Dharamsala, one of the quickest wickets in the country, in the World Cup against South Africa, a team that ripped apart India’s batting at the bouncy Perth in the T20 World Cup, is exciting. But, it’s about using up a spot for a bowler with one-dimensional skills at present or a more all-rounded bowler, who could supplement India’s fast bowling resources further. India have a choice to make, and giving Malik limited game-time during the West Indies ODIs indicates they have made a decision.