His ability to evoke rough pace has made many tell that he needs to be accelerated on the Indian senior team. Others, however, were skeptical of the rush of this process.
Former India Goalkeeper Hitter and National Selector Saba Karim was a guest on the Times of India Sportscast’s sports podcast some time ago and had claimed that Umran was speeding up on the Indian senior team.
“Umran Malik has that rare quality of rhythm. You can add more variety, more control, more discipline to his bowling – which will happen – this kind of speed has never been seen in the Indian trim. If we have someone like him, what are we doing. If you ask me I would put him on the test squad. Just play it, because he has had 2-3 years of experience in first class cricket plus IPL, which means he is not raw, Saba Karim had said on TOI Sportscast.
Human Malik. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst / Getty Images)
Current selectors seemed to agree and Umran, who was also a bowler on the Indian network for the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup, received his international debut on two T20I tours in Ireland, less than a month after the conclusion of the IPL 2022.
Let’s take a quick look at Umran’s IPL data for the 2022 season and then compare it to what he has done so far for India in the 3 T20I he has played with blue India so far.
In the 2022 IPL, Umran played all 14 games for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who kept him in pre-auction at Rs 4 Crore. In what was his second IPL season, the fast pitcher took 22 wickets at an average of 20.18. His economy rate was on the higher side – 9.03 – and he had the best figures of 5-25. He had a radius of 4 wickets and one of 5 wickets in the last season of the IPL.
Cut to his exploits with the Indian team and Umran was a far cry from his IPL persona. He made his international debut in Series 2 T20I against Ireland in June. In the first game he only threw one ball and gave 14 points, without taking a wicket. In the second game, substitute captain Hardik Pandia gave Umran his full share of 4 overs and the 22-year-old pacer returned 1-42 figures. He was hit for 4 fours and 2 sixes and also threw 3 wide.
His third outing with the India blue jersey was his third T20I against England in Nottingham, which the hosts won by 17 points. In this match Umran again threw his full share of 4 overs and gave away up to 56 runs and took 1 wicket. His economy rate was 14. He got hit for 6 fours and 3 sixes and threw 3 wide.
Umran Malik. (Photo PTI)
Earlier this year, the former cricket captain of India Anjum Chopra was a guest on the Times of India Sportscast’s sports podcast and talked about how playing in the IPL is very different from playing for India internationally and that Umran should be allowed to fully hone his skills before receiving a debut in India.
“Wearing an orange and black jersey is different from wearing a blue India jersey, completely different. The setting is completely different. Give the player plenty of time to realize his talent. Let him travel (with the India team) , but to say that he is the future of Indian cricket – yes, he is a future – but let’s not put all the eggs in one basket. We let the player grow adequately so that he is able to sustain himself when he is actually at the next level. ” , Anjum had said on TOI Sportscast.
There is no doubt that Umran is a very special talent. Bowling at the kind of speed it generates is something that is a natural talent and cannot be taught. It’s a sentiment that was also recently echoed by former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“Umran Malik has something that others don’t have: extreme pace. You can’t teach anyone. You can teach everything else: line and length, yorker, bouncer, slower ones. But you can’t teach someone how to bowl with speed. Or you were born a rhythm or you were born an average rhythm … No doubt, he has the rhythm. But what I hear is that Umran Malik is not ready for international cricket at the moment. It’s very simple, he needs time. He hasn’t played a lot at cricket and so it’s still raw, “Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
At 22, Umran is as old as his own. Thankfully it is not a late discovery. Thanks to the Sunrisers Hyderabad who spotted and recognized his rare talent when he was still a network player for them and the platform the IPL provides to everyone is well aware of the rare talent he has.
In a match against Capitals of Delhi Umran scored 157 km / h in the IPL 2022.
Another school of thought is that Umran should be tried in Test cricket and not pushed like a T20I bowler right now.
However, based on what the rhythm sensation has seen so far, the Indian team’s management and selectors will no doubt be aware that giving him the time and space to grow as a cricketer before unleashing him full-time as an Indian player might be the most prudent. Way to proceed. It will be crucial, of course, to keep an eye on Umran’s progress and make sure he doesn’t get lost in the multitude of young fast pitchers who are climbing the ranks.
