Xtra Time Web Desk: Guarat Titans wicket keeper batter Wriddhiman Saha was late by only a few seconds to bring his bat down to see the wickets get crashed by a delivery from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s pace sensation Umran Malik during Wednesday night’s IPL 2022 clash. The speed gun showed 153.30 kph. It was genuinely quick and who better than Saha to realise it. Umran Malik;s toe crashing yorker at express pace is turning out to be his stock delivery. It was indeed a special ball from Umran Malik as he returned with his maiden five-fer in an IPL match.
Well for Umran, speed thrills as he has been clocking 145 kph and above regularly in the ongoing matches of IPL 2022. Nearly 91% of all his deliveries this season have been above 140kmph… and that’s only half the story. It looks uncomfortable and no fun for anyone. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s England batter Jonny Bairstow while facing him in the nets asked Umran to bowl slower.
Umran consistently bowls fast and there is no let up. If you don’t like it this fast, you have a problem. This isn’t a one-off effort ball; it’s just his stock delivery. He is still raw and needs to be groomed into a world beating fast bowler. The best thing to have happened to Umran early in his career is to have former South African quick Dale Steyn as fast bowling mentor.
As former West Indian pacer Ian Bishop rightly put it, “Umran Malik is nowhere near the finished product”.
There are already talks about fast-tracking Umran into the Indian team. The fast bowler from J&K is turning out to be a national treasure and needs to be handled with utmost care.
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