IPL 2021: Who is Umran Malik? Meet the youngster who clocked 150kmph on debut

The 21-year-old debutant for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Umran Malik, during their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on October 3, clocked a delivery at 150kmph speed. Malik was brought into the side as a replacement for T Natarajan, and in the process, he became the fourth cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). During his first match in the tournament, he bowled nine out of the ten fastest balls delivered by SRH bowlers in the current season, also making a mark by adding his name to the list of players with the fastest deliveries in IPL.

Ahead of SRH’s decision to pick the J&K youngster in place of Natarajan, not much was known about Malik, as he made his T20 debut for Jammu and Kashmir during the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in January this year. In his T20 debut during J&K vs Railways, he returned with the impressive figures of 3/24. Meanwhile, during match no 49 of IPL, SRH vs KKR on Sunday, Malik bowled with a star-studded SRH bowling lineup, with bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, and Siddharth Kaul. He was associated with the team as a net bowler before Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19.

Umran is a special talent: SRH Skipper Kane Williamson

After Malik made everyone notice him, with his sheer speed on Sunday, he was praised by the SRH skipper Kane Williamson. During the post-match press conference, Williamson said, “Umran is a special talent. I suppose one of the silver linings of being where we are, is certainly not desirable, but we have been able to expose a no. of younger players and as we are saying, the talents certainly in India is a mean. There are so many young guys ready to go and get some experience and that will be so much better for their careers. Yeah, Umran is something special and great that he was able to get a run tonight, a fantastic opportunity for him.”

Malik returned with the figures of 4/27 as SRH failed to defend the below-par target of 116 runs. Earlier during the first innings of the match, SRH scored 115 runs at the loss of eight wickets. His Jammu teammate Abdul Samad, scored the second-highest run for SRH in the match, courtesy of his innings of 25 runs off 18 balls. Umran is the fourth player to represent Jammu and Kashmir, after Parvez Rasool, Rasikh Salam, and Samad. Following their loss to KKR, SRH continued to be at the bottom of the IPL 2021 points table, with just two wins from twelve matches.

(Image: @iplt20/BCCI)