The BCCI’s senior selection committee picked rookie Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umran Malik in the 14-member India A squad for the tour of South Africa, starting from November 23.
The team will be led by Gujarat top-order batter Priyank Panchal. All the three matches will be played in Bloemfontein.
The 21-year-old Malik, a right-arm pacer, has played just one List A and eight T20 matches so far in his nascent career. He has not played any red-ball game.
The player from Jammu got everyone excited with his raw pace during the IPL in UAE last month. He had clocked 152.95 kph — the fastest of the tournament — during Sunrisers Hyderabad’s game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, whose captain Virat Kohli was left impressed.
The youngster has risen through the ranks despite humble beginnings. His father owns a small fruit shop in Jammu’s Gujjar Nagar area.
On his T20 debut, he picked up 3/24 against Railways. He has taken six wickets in four games in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 championships, though J&K finished last in Group C.Other members of the squad include batters Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Devdutt Padikkal and bowlers Navdeep Saini and Rahul Chahar.
