Legendary Sunil Gavaskar said India can look at handing Umran Malik a debut in the 3rd T20I against South Africa on Tuesday, saying extra pace might give India the edge in Visakhapatnam. Gavaskar said he wouldn’t make a lot of changes to the XI despite India losing the first 2 matches of the 5-match T20i series at home.
“I would look at bringing Umran Malik into the team. What we have seen in the two matches is that we have only taken 7 (9) wickets. So we need a bowler who would be able to strike at the top and in the middle overs as well,” Sunil Gavaskar said on the eve of the 3rd T20I.
“If you have the extra pace, yes because of the extra pace, you can go for runs because the ball will speed off the bat that much quicker.
“Not too many other changes, because you don’t want to upset the balance of the team,” he added.
Barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who picked up a 4-wicket haul in the 2nd T20I, none of the other India bowlers have managed to impress. The likes of Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel have failed to provide breakthroughs consistently, while Hardik Pandya has not lived up to expectations in the 6th bowler role.
