The pacer from Jammu’s uncapped Sunrisers Hyderabad has created buzz in the cricketing world with a speed of over 150 kmph
The pacer from Jammu’s uncapped Sunrisers Hyderabad has created buzz in the cricketing world with a speed of over 150 kmph
Hailing from a small town in Jammu, Umran Malik has made a mark in the world of cricket with his wooden stumps and his quick pace, which saw even an experienced and in-form batsman like David Miller searching for the ball from the pitch.
in Match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans On April 27, 2022, Malik took five wickets for just 25 runs in his quota of four overs. However, the statistics, as impressive as they are, still do not reflect the devastation that Malik inflicted on the Titans’ batsmen.
Not packing a huge swing or quick yorkers in his arsenal for now, the right-arm pacer made the life of the batsmen hell with his pace and whistling, which stopped the batsmen from anticipating their shots. On a pitch that saw 394 runs in 40 overs, Malik took five wickets, four of which were clean bowled, and you remember again, not with yorkers, but with quicker deliveries. For many, Malik’s magic was reminiscent of Shoaib Akhtar’s unbeaten balls coming out of his hands, which was known as the Rawalpindi Express.
Born in 1999, Umran Malik comes from a very modest family in Gujjar Nagar, Jammu. His father, Abdul Rashid, a fruit-seller, has been supportive of his son’s passion for the sport. Talking about his son, Rashid said in an interview espncricinfo That he never denied buying equipment for Malik, but he also always advised him to study a little.
However, despite such endorsements, Malik made the move from street cricket only around 17, when he began playing in local tennis-ball tournaments.
However, he was noticed when Sunrisers Hyderabad picked him as their net bowler in 2020, where he surprised and delighted everyone with his raw pace. The franchise continued with them the following year. And in an almost film-like event, during the second leg of IPL in Dubai in 2021, he was roped in by T. Natarajan was included in the SRH team as a replacement, who had tested positive for COVID-19.
Umran Malik celebrates the wicket of RCB’s KS India during the IPL match between RCB and SRH in Abu Dhabi, UAE on October 6, 2021. photo credit: PTI
After being knocked out of the playoff race, SRH gave the young pacer a chance against Kolkata Knight Riders. The match was a low-scoring one, with Hyderabad scoring a total of 115, which KKR chased down without breaking a sweat. But even in the dead rubber, one player turned the cricketing world’s head. After his first few deliveries, everyone looked at the speed gun and started asking who is this new guy who is running at 150 kmph with such ease?
Soon after, Malik bowled the second fastest delivery of IPL 2021 at 152.95 kmph, which caught the attention of the young pacer even Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Malik was selected as a net bowler in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.
His outings so far in IPL 2022 have proved that his confidence has grown and with a few changes in his arsenal, he will be one bowler to keep an eye on.
With inputs from ESPNcricinfo