Jammu & Kashmir pacer Umran Malik chosen as India's net bowler for T20 World Cup: Report
With few days to go before the start of the T20 World Cup, Sunrisers Hyderabad young speed sensation Umran Malik has been chosen as Team India's net bowler
- SportFit
- 3 min read
With few days left to go before the start of the T20 World Cup, Sunrisers Hyderabad's young speed sensation Umran Malik has been chosen as Team India's net bowler for the ICC's marquee tournament. Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Umran Malik impressed fans and cricket experts with his lethal pace in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday were defeated by the Mumbai Indians and following that some players started heading back to their respective team camp, while many prepared to return to their homes. However, Malik has been asked to be in the UAE as he has been selected as Team India's net bowler.
"Yes, he will be staying back with the team as net bowler. He was impressive in the IPL and we feel it will be a good idea to have the batsmen face him at the nets. It will also be a good exposure for him to bowl to the quality batsmen like Kohli and Rohit," a source told ANI.
Umran Malik clocked 153 kph to bowl the fastest delivery of IPL 2021 against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday. Malik achieved this feat in the fourth delivery of the ninth over against Devdutt Padikkal. RCB batter, however, got the outside edge and scored a run on the fastest delivery of IPL 2021. Even though the delivery did not earn him a wicket, Malik ended up breaking the Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Lockie Ferguson's 152.75 km record in the ongoing IPL 2021.
Who Is Umran Malik?
The 21-year-old speedster, Umran Malik was brought into the side (SRH) 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). 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 against Railways, he returned with impressive figures of 3/24.
After breaking Ferguson's record against RCB, Malik spoke to his teammate and Team India speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar about his rise in Indian cricket and also how former star cricketer Irfan Pathan play a monumental role in his career.
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"From the beginning, I was into fast bowling. When I played tennis ball cricket back home, I used to bowl fast there as well. I was the fastest of all. We used to play one-over matches and I used to bowl fast yorkers. I started bowling from leather balls in 2018 during the U-19 trials, where the selectors saw me. I was bowling in joggers and didn't know about spikes until then. One of my friends gave me his spikes and I then came into the U-19 team. Then I played U-23 the next year and then I also played Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali," Malik said while speaking to Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the match.
"I thank the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for giving me an opportunity, first as a net bowler and then in the main squad as well. Rajan Sir in Jammu helped me a lot. [Irfan] Pathan bhai came and he also taught me many things. He came and highlighted the areas where I can make improvements. Rest, me and [Abdul] Samad practice a lot together and he tells where can I improve," Malik added.