There have been a lot of talks
around his bowling in IPL 2022. There are two opinions – a group of experts who
believe Umran Malik should continue to bowl fast and pick up skills over time
to sustain in international cricket and then there are people who want the
SunRisers Hyderabad pacer to lose pace to focus on accuracy.
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In such a situation, a 22-year-old pacer may get confused about what to do. Umran,
however, has not taken those opinions into account since he is the ward of
legendary South African pacer Dale Steyn. There is nobody better qualified than
Steyn to talk about the trade of fast bowling. Cutting the clutter, Steyn
issued a statement to the media, saying, “I do not want him to worry about line
and length, get the seam up, bowl as quick as you can. That is your strongest
suit.”
“He (Umran) is got good
control, he is got good areas and he is rapid,” said Graeme Swann.
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Umran Malik has been the pace sensation of IPL 2022. He has already clocked 157kph and has been regularly
clocking above 150kph. That intimidated the batters like anything. Irrespective
of the talks, Umran Malik has been exceptionally successful this season.
Playing only his second season since making debut for SRH in October last, the
Jammu boy took 21 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 20. At the time of
writing this story, Umran Malik is sitting well above seasoned bowlers Kuldeep
Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel and his teammate T Natarajan in the IPL 2022 wicket takers’ chart.
On Tuesday, producing an
economical performance against Mumbai Indians, the young fast bowler struck
thrice in quick succession to rattle the Mumbai side in the second innings.
Umran picked up the wickets of Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Daniel Sams at a
crucial juncture of the match. This again strengthened his credentials as a
strike bowler. In the game against Punjab Kings, on April 17, his last over
maiden with three wickets was one such example of his ability to strike and
thwart the oppositions’ chances.
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Chasing a 194 runs target Tuesday night,
Mumbai Indians got off to a fine start, scoring 95 runs from the opening
wicket. But once captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Washington Sundar, the
fast bowler made inroads to rattle the MI. From 95 for 1, Umran Malik brought the
home side down to 127 for 4 putting their chase at risk. Eventually, he
conceded just 23 runs in three overs and finished with the three wickets. Umran
now has 21 wickets in IPL 2022, and with this personal feat, he broke a record
that was set by Bumrah.
At 22, Umran is the youngest
pacer in the league’s history to take 20 or more wickets in a season.
Youngest players to 20
wickets in IPL:
Umran Malik – 22 years and
176 days
Jasprit Bumrah – 23 years
and 165 days in IPL 2017
RP Singh – 23 years and 166
days in IPL 2009
Pragyan Ojha – 23 years and
225 days in IPL 2010
Umran has been highly
effective in the middle order. Of his 21 wickets, he took 16 wickets while
bowling in the 7 to 15 over phase which showed that he is a strike bowler with high potential.
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Wanindu Hasaranga is the only one ahead of Umran
with 17 scalps in the middle overs.
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Most wickets in middle overs (7-15) this season:
17 – Wanindu Hasaranga
16 – Umran Malik
14 – Kuldeep Yadav
11 – Yuzvendra Chahal
On Tuesday, Umran Malik’s 3
for 23 after Rahul Tripathi’s 44-ball 76 helped SRH register a narrow three
runs win over MI to keep their playoffs hope alive.
