Lightning quick Malik tipped for India after igniting IPL
NEW DELHI: Speed demon Umran Malik is being backed to win a place in India’s bowling atack ater lighting up the IPL with deliveries of more than 150kph (93mph) and wickets galore.
The 22-year-old returned figures of 5-25, becoming the first player on a losing team this season to be awarded man of the match, as his Sunrisers Hyderabad team went down to Gujarat Titans in a last-over thriller on Tuesday.
Malik’s rise from the Jammu region of Indianadministered Kashmir to the Indian Premier League has been nothing short of a fairy-tale.
The son of a fruit vendor ratled Gujarat’s big guns including skipper Hardik Pandya, Wriddhiman Saha and David Miller to earn rich praise from cricketing greats.
Former Test captain Sunil Gavaskar had already predicted Malik would play for India and, ater the express bowler’s five-wicket haul, said India should “take him to England for the one-off Test and the limited-overs (in July).”
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen said on Star Sports: “I think what was more exciting than these five wickets is the way Sunny (Gavaskar) was celebrating in the commentary box.
“Punching the ceiling, jumping and screaming. I think Sunny did that because how oten have we seen India producing the fastest bowler in world cricket?”
India, once renowned for producing spin bowlers, currently have a potent pace atack led by Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
The fast bowling revolution was started more than 20 years ago by Zaheer Khan, now director of cricket with Mumbai Indians, and has seen a steady stream of world-class pace bowlers emerge since.
Malik, menacing with a thick mop of hair and a silver chain, bowled Saha with an unplayable yorker at nearly 153kph (95mph) to raise the roof at the Wankhede Stadium.
He flatened David Miller’s stumps with another pacy delivery and then bowled Abhinav Manohar for a duck to register his first IPL fivewicket return.
“The idea was just to bowl as fast as I can. The ground is slightly on the smaller side so the idea is to stay on the stumps, mix the pace and try to keep the ball within the stumps,” Malik said.
“God willing, if I have to bowl 155kph, I will do it one day. But at the moment, all I want to do is bowl well.”