Let me have a week with Malik, I’ll make him touch 160kmph: Brett Lee

The former Australia pace ace says Umran Malik can prosper in all formats.

Few others in world cricket could make the ball crush the batter’s toes or whizz past his ears at a greater velocity than Brett Lee, who also had 718 wickets across formats. No wonder that a couple of Indians clocking excess of 150kmph consistently in this Indian Premier League (IPL) has got the retired Australian fast bowler excited, particularly about Umran Malik.

Former Australia speedster Brett Lee and pace sensation Umran Malik

On a visit to Mumbai as brand ambassador of sportsbet.io, Lee spoke about IPL pace finds Malik and Mohsin Khan being great for world cricket, handling the body while bowling express speed and why he believed Malik—fast-tracked into the India T20 squad—could develop into a good all-format player.

Excerpts from an interview:

Malik and Mohsin bowling more than 150kmph consistently in the IPL must be a good sign for Indian cricket…

It’s great for India, great for world cricket and great for me. I love seeing guys bowl over 150kmph. That’s probably one thing over the last 20 years that we haven’t seen a lot of. We’ve seen bowlers around the 130-140 mark, occasionally touching 150, but you don’t consistently see bowlers go over 150. Umran Malik is a great find. I wish him well, because I do believe there’s a bigger career waiting for him post the IPL.

The faster you bowl, the greater the injury risk, isn’t it? As an express pacer who went through a fair share of injuries yourself, how do you prevent frequent breakdowns?

It’s obviously very difficult, because the faster you try and bowl, the greater the risk of being in the threshold of getting injured. But also, the greater the reward; the fact that you can take a bulk of wickets at 150-plus is very exciting for me. You’ve got to maintain and look after your body well. The fast bowling action is such an unnatural action. The body is not meant to run in, contort, counter-rotate, hyperextend, twist and turn in layman’s terms. So you’ve got to look after it. A lot of rehabilitation, a lot of warming down, a lot of stretching, not too many big weights in the gym, light weights and high repetitions—those types of things can ensure that your body can stay in good shape.

Is it even more challenging in this era of three-format, non-stop cricket?

As a youngster you want to try and play as much cricket as possible. Towards the back end of your career it’s probably different. So if I’m Umran Malik, I would not be choosing one format or the other at the moment. Let him play all forms of the game, because you’re young and agile and very fit. I want to see him prosper in all formats, because I believe he’s got all the skills that can prosper in all three formats rather than just one.

Now that he’s made the breakthrough and earned the India call-up, what’s the key to handling Malik from here?

Let me have a week with him, I’ll make him touch 160 (smiles).

Well, it’s all about training. You’ve got to train correctly and know how to train well. It’s about getting the basics right, doing them better than anyone else. And by that I mean the fundamentals of bowling fast. A lot of people try to over-complicate things. You don’t have to. Bowling can be very simple. And without giving too much away, there are a few little things in his run up where I would adjust and tinker with. And that would definitely make him bowl quicker.

Would that tinkering be with the run up or even the loading up?

All of it. But I’m not saying I would change his action or his run up. It’s just some little tweaks. At 39 years of age when I finished playing the Big Bash, I was still working on my action to the last ball that I bowled. So, it’s very exciting times for him (Malik).

Do you see Malik replicating the same kind of impact at the international stage?

Yeah, but that’ll come from experience and also with time. You might bowl at 150kmph, but in Test cricket the batsman can sit on you and in one-day cricket they have a little more time. But, most importantly, you have to learn some good skills in Test cricket and be able to smash that line and length. You have to have a good yorker, a good bouncer and swing the ball away consistently. These are things he will learn over time. But yes, I do believe he’s got the makings of a good Test player.

Express pace can also cost runs especially in T20, something Malik had to deal with during the IPL. How do you address that?

People often put you in a category, that if you bowl 150kmph you’re going to be expensive. But why can’t someone bowl a good line and length and swing the ball away at 150kmph? It’s doable. That’s the one thing I put my whole career trying to do on a consistent basis. It comes down to practice, comes down to temperament, comes down to consistency, and also understanding the format you’re playing. If you’re playing IPL or T20 cricket, you’re going to get hit for sixes. That’s just how it is. I always say: get your ego, open up the safe of your hotel room and put it there. And then go out and bowl.