Former India opening batter Krishnamachari Srikkanth is highly impressed by the speeds and raw talent of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s young pacer Umran Malik.
On Sunday, Umran troubled multiple Kolkata Knight Riders batters with the pace and bounce he generated. For one of his deliveries, he touched the 150 kmph mark, making him the Indian bowler with the fastest delivery bowled in this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League.
The Jammu & Kashmir cricketer, who had played just two domestic T20s before his IPL debut, gave away only 27 runs from his four overs. And though he didn’t take a wicket, there was enough on show to suggest that he has a bright future ahead of him, feels Srikkanth.
“Umran Malik of SRH, he is a good pick. That guy can be moulded into a fantastic fast bowler. Nitish Rana struggled. Some weaknesses of KKR’s batting were exposed. He (Umran) has just played one (two) T20 game(s).
See somebody made a very good point during commentary – Jasprit Bumrah was picked like this. Today see, where he is.”
Srikkanth said on his Youtube channel ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.
Srikkanth said a bit of the way Umran hustles through the crease and his action “resembles” that of the legendary Pakistan fast-bowler Waqar Younis.
The ex-India chief selector added that the 21-year-old J & K quick has a “rhythmic” approach to the bowling mark, which helped him consistently pose a challenge to KKR batters, including their left-hander Nitish Rana. The way Umran troubled Rana with pace and bounce, Srikkanth felt, was “amazing”.
The IPL has given Umran such a great platform to show the talent that exists within the valleys up north. The cricketer was initially picked up only as a net bowler by SRH for the second half of the IPL 2021 but was recently added to the main playing party when left-arm quick T Natarajan tested Covid-19 positive and had to be sidelined.
IPL playing conditions allowed SRH to get Umran in as a short-term replacement signing for Natarajan on Covid-19 grounds but only until the latter completely overcomes the contagious virus. However, the pacer has made that small window of opportunity count as the fans and experts are already talking of him in high praise.
