Umran Malik, a young Indian pacer, and Haris Rauf, a young Pakistani fast bowler, have been two of the top bowlers in world cricket right now who have frequently reached the 150 kmph threshold on the speedometer. The two pacers have also been regularly contrasted with one another as the record held by renowned bowler Shoaib Akhtar approaches. The conversation was abruptly ended by Pakistani legend Aaqib Javed with a scathing “Virat Kohli” remark because he saw no use in continuing it. Haris’ fastest delivery to date was the 159 kmph thunderbolt he threw against England in the T20 World Cup last year. The 23-year-old Indian, who is the nation’s quickest bowler to date, reached 157 kph during an Indian Premier League match and his fastest in an international game is 156 kmph.
When asked about the Umran vs. Haris discussion by Events & Happenings Sports, Javed stated that it was comparable to comparing India’s star batter, Virat Kohli, to the rest of the world’s batters. He specifically referred to the Pakistan pacer in this context. Javed believes that reaching the 150 kmph mark consistently throughout a match is more important than beating Akhtar’s record. The World Cup-winning pacer noted that, in contrast to Haris, Umran typically begins with that tempo but slows it to 138 kmph by the seventh or eighth over.
“Umran Malik is not as trained and fit as Haris Rauf. If you look at him in ODIs, in his first spell he bowls around 150 kmph but by the 7th or 8th over the speed drops to 138 kmph. The difference is the same as it is between Kohli and the rest of the batters. He (Haris) is very disciplined with his diet, training, and his lifestyle. I have not seen a single Pakistan bowler who has a diet like Haris. No one has a clear lifestyle like him. Bowling 160 kmph is not a big deal for me, but bowling at the same speed throughout the match is very crucial,” he said.
