Can Umran Malik break Shoaib Akhtar’s fastest delivery record? Check young pacer’s stunning answer

Young pace sensation Umran Malik of Team India has created ripples in international cricket. The emerging tearaway speedster had a great session in 2022. He performed consistently for his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Following his exploits with the ball in 14 IPL matches, the right-arm fast bowler got a maiden call-up for the Men in Blue’s T20I series against South Africa last year. Since then, Umran has played five ODIs and four T20s for India.

When Umran was asked recently if he wants to break Shoaib Akhtar’s record of bowling the fastest delivery in international cricket (161kph vs New Zealand in 2002), the Jammu and Kashmir cricketer gave an interesting reply that will leave the fans stunned.

As per Umran, he is not focused on any record as of now and aims to perform brilliantly for India instead.

“Right now, I’m only thinking about performing well for the country. If I do well, and if I’m lucky, I’ll break that. But I don’t think about it at all,” said Umran.

“You don’t get to realise how fast you’ve bowled during the match. It’s only when we come back after the game when we get to know how fast I was. During the game, my only focus is on bowling in the right areas and picking wickets,” the 23-year-old pacer added.

Notably, due to the sheering pace Umran is often compared to Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar who was unarguably the fastest pacer in the history of Asian and world cricket.