Umran Malik will definitely
don the India jersey but raw pace would not alone help him to survive in
international cricket. He will need to pick up skills and tricks of fast
bowling to become a quality pacer, said star South African pacer Anrich Nortje
said on Friday.

Also Read: Mentor Dale Steyn wants Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Umran Malik to bowl as per field, change pace

Nortje, who is playing for
Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022, is one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. He
has made a comeback to competitive cricket after four months of recovering from a hip injury.

Asked about his opinion of
new pace sensation Umran Malik, who is regularly clocking 90 miles per hour,
Nortje sounded cautiously optimistic.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Wanindu Hasaranga reveals how RCB plans to stop SRH’s Umran Malik

“I am sure Umran is going to
be one of the key players for India in near future. Luck will also have to play
its part. But most importantly, it’s about the quality of what you deliver as we
have seen fastest deliveries that are being awarded are going for boundaries,”
Nortje told PTI in an interview.

 “It doesn’t matter at what pace it is bowled.
Pace is not the be-all and end-all.

Also Read: SRH coach’s verdict on Umran Malik: Will never be a line and length bowler

“It is about the quality of
execution. And I believe he is improving on that aspect of having control with
pace. Also at Sunrisers Hyderabad, under Dale (Steyn, fast bowling coach),
Umran is in good hands. He has a lot of senior and experienced players around
him, so he will certainly improve,” the pacer said.

In the ongoing season of
IPL, Nortje has not been in best of his form as he was picked in only four of
Delhi Capitals’ 12 games, taking six wickets in them.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Breaking down Wanindu Hasaranga’s fifer vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

“It’s been a long break but
it’s good to be out there on the field with the team and it was long time at
home. I needed a break at the start (of my injury) but got very long at the end
not knowing what was going on.

“It’s really good feeling to
get going again and obviously trying to bowl at level I was bowling,” the
28-year-old said.

Also Read: Umran Malik to Yash Dayal: 5 uncapped pacers who light up IPL 2022

For fast bowlers suffering
from hip injuries and stress fractures, building the rhythm is an important
aspect, and Nortje is still not sure as to how much time it would take for him
to hit the peak again, like the 2019-20 season.

“If I knew the answer I
would have told you,” he laughed.

“I am myself trying to
figure out as well. There is obviously a balance between the amount we can bowl
at this stage and so you can’t really bowl 20 to 30 overs in a week really.” He
spoke about his endeavour to build muscle memory.

Also Read: What to expect from Brendon McCullum as England coach?

“Just trying to find a
balance. Quantity of overs bowled will play a massive role later on but for
now, just trying to focus on small things — like trying to remember what I was
doing right before I ended up injured in November. So trying to find that
feeling but it might take some time just to get on top of everything,” Nortje
said.

For now, Nortje is not
trying to again hit the 95 mph, focusing instead on deliveries of better
quality and then gradually building on the pace.

Also Read: IPL 2022: How face shield helps Rishi Dhawan take on batters after injury

“The basics are about
execution and the sort of quality of delivery as well and the recent focus is
to try and get that quality up.”