Umran Malik was scheduled to join the Indian team in Perth last week as a net bowler for the T20 World Cup, but with some delay in his visa process, the speedster has now been allowed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to join the Jammu and Kashmir team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Brigadier Anil Gupta, the administrator at the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) confirmed to Sportstar that Umran has joined the team in Mohali and will be available for selection for the first game against Meghalaya on Tuesday.
“Due to some issues, Umran’s travel to Australia has been delayed and the BCCI has released him for at least the first game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beginning Tuesday,” Brigadier Gupta said.
Asked for a clarity on how long Umran would be available for Jammu and Kashmir in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Gupta said, “we will take it match-by-match. For now, he will be available for the first game.”
There is also a buzz that the other net bowler Kuldeep Sen’s departure to Australia has also been delayed, even though there was no clarity on whether he would also feature in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy fixture for Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh will play Rajasthan in Rajkot on Tuesday.
As per initial plan, Mohammed Siraj, Umran and Kuldeep were to travel with the India squad to Perth on October 6, where the Indian team is training for a week before travelling to Brisbane for its first warm-up match on October 17. However, Siraj was picked for the ODIs against South Africa, while a visa delay has forced Umran to miss out on the training session in Perth.
The standby players, who are currently busy with the ODI series, are expected to leave for Australia by October 12.
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