“I am not bothered about who is the fastest” – Anrich Nortje rubbishes comparisons with Umran Malik
South African pacer Anrich Nortje has rubbished all the talks of him competing with the Indian pace sensation Umran Malik for bowling the fastest delivery. Umran Malik rose to fame after consistently breaching the 150 kmph mark during the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. At the same time, Nortje has already established himself among the world’s fastest pacers.
During the IPL 2022, Anrich Nortje made the headlines by bowling the 2nd fastest and the 3rd fastest delivery in the history of the IPL at that time. In the game against Rajasthan Royals, Nortje fired up 156.20 and 155.21 kmph deliveries. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old pacer from Jammu & Kashmir, Umran Malik, broke Nortje’s record in the IPL 2022 by delivering a 157 kmph scorcher.
Umran Malik accounted for 22 wickets in the IPL 2022 and earned his maiden national call-up for the South Africa series. The Proteas are leading the series 2-1 after three games, and Malik is yet to make his India debut. There have been many talks already about the youngster’s pace and if he gets a chance in the 4th game, many will keep a close eye on the speed machine.
“At this stage, I am not bothered,” says Anrich Nortje
Ahead of the fourth T20I between India and South Africa, Nortje shared his views when he was asked who would bowl the fastest delivery in the game. The Proteas pacer clarified that he is not bothered about who is pacy among the two of them.
“Yeah, at this stage, I am not bothered about who is the fastest (bowler). Not really bothered about it who is the fastest and what the speed gun is, it is about contributing to the team. When I do train, when I am not playing, you obviously think about how can you get fast with the way you train, whatever you are doing. In the back of my mind, it would be something I will keep on striving towards but it is not something I think about when I go to the field,” said Anrich Nortje in the pre-match conference.
“Umran Malik is a very good bowler, a very fast bowler. He has shown what he can do. If he gets faster, great for him. If I get faster, great for me. I do not think we are at the stage where we are competing to bowl the fastest ball, it is about winning games and trying to contribute,” further added Anrich Nortje.
