“Achha hua jo nahi khela…”: Umran Malik’s father on his son’s non-selection in India’s T20 World Cup squad

India’s tearaway pacer Umran Malik made an impactful ODI debut against New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland on Friday (November 25). He impressed fans and experts with his raw pace and picked up two wickets in his quota of ten overs.

His fastest ball was clocked at 153.1 kph, while many other deliveries were above 145 kph. But his effort was not enough to guide India to victory asas Tom Latham (145*) and Kane Williamson (94*) added an a record 221-run stand for the fourth wicket to chase down the 307-run target with 7 wickets in hands.

Back in Jammu, Umran’s family members were glued to the TV set watching their child representing India and his father Abdul Rashid proudly explained to his mother that Williamson used to be the captain of their son’s team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“I told his mother that Umran used to bowl him [Williamson] in the nets and now they are facing each other. Aage ustaad hai toh pichhe chela (a faceoff between the master and the disciple). I really enjoyed watching them,” Rashid was quoted as saying to News 18.

Umran made his T20I debut during India’s tour of Ireland and England in July this year. Many cricket pundits believed that Umran should have been in the Indian team which made a semifinal exit at the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Former fast bowlers from Pakistan and Australia, mainly Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Brett Lee were left baffled at his omission as they were of the opinion that Umran could have troubled the batters with his extreme pace on the bouncy pitches in Australia.

However, Umran’s father feels that it was good for his son to have not been picked in India’s World Cup team.

“Dekhiye janab.. Log keh rahe the na, ki world cup nahi khela, lekin hum kehte hai ki achha hua jo nahi khela. Jo jab hona rehta hai wahi hota hai! (People were saying that he couldn’t get selected for the World Cup. We think it is great that he didn’t make it. Things happen when they are meant to).

“You don’t need to rush behind anything. The kid is in the learning phase. He shares the dressing room with the experienced ones. He’ll go there and learn from them. You need not hurry. The big players who are already there are doing pretty well while others get the opportunity after being noticed,” added Umran’s father.

Rashid, who runs his own fruit and vegetable shop, didn’t went out for work on Friday to see his son playing his first ODI match.

“It was important for him to play the ODIs and he made a decent debut. The almighty backed him so did the entire nation. Sabka kehna tha ki Umran Mallik aur Sanju Samson ko khilao (People were talking about getting Umran and Sanju Samson in the team. It happened today and we felt great.)

Our kid is playing for the country. What else could we ask for? The entire world is watching him. It was his debut and we are happy for him. India should’ve won the game but no worries, we will win the next one,” Rashid added further.