Umran Malik is being trained by South African pace legend Dale Steyn at Sunrisers Hyderabad.
When a 152.8 kmph toe-crushing yorker from Umran Malik rattled the stumps of a set batsman Wriddhiman Saha of Gujarat Titans on Wednesday night in IPL 2022, not only the spectators or commentators but even the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Dale Steyn was in awe of the beauty. A fully impressed Steyn could just clap from the dugout and say nothing but his expression said it all.
Umran Malik, Steyn’s disciple at SRH camp, registered his maiden five-wicket haul in IPL on Wednesday night at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. It came against Gujarat Titans. Four of the five dismissals came when the stumps were disturbed and this speaks volumes about Malik’s pace.
Just one of Umran’s victims on Wednesday night, Hardik Pandya, was not bowled but caught out. However, that could not happen before a quick bouncer from Umran hit his right shoulder. So hard that Hardik needed some icing on the region after he was dismissed for 10 off 6 balls.
Dale Steyn, who himself clicked over 150 kmph quite easily during his playing days, knows the value of speed and how it should be nurtured. He has given a green signal to Umran Malik to go for out-and-out pace. However, what adds beauty to the bowling of the Jammu and Kashmir pacer is the improved line and length and obviously his South African coach Steyn has a lot to do with it. Even the celebration of Malik after taking wickets seemed similar to that of Steyn, the former South African pacer who was at the peak of his game during the late 2010s and early 2020s.
Umran, a tennis ball player at the start, always had extreme pace in his deliveries but he lacked better line and length when he arrived in IPL last year. However, now when the player has started improving in that department too, he seems a hard nut to crack for the batsmen.
“I always bowl fast but I've been trying to bowl better lines and lengths. Plan was to rotate between my plans. Idea was to attack the stumps and it's worked well for me. 155 (kmph), hopefully it happens, but the main goal is to bowl well and pick wickets for my team,” said Umran Malik after the match.
Though Umran’s maiden five-wicket haul in IPL couldn’t win the game for SRH, courtesy Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan, the right-arm pacer bagged the Man of the Match award. He is currently second in the race of Purple Cap in IPL 2022 with 15 wickets to his name from eight games.
Here is how the cricket fraternity reacted after his sensational spell on Wednesday night:
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also become a fan. The former Union minister even asked the BCCI to give the young pacer "an exclusive coach" and "quickly induct him into the national team."
SRH lost the game on Wednesday night but IPL and India earned an improved version of Umran Malik.