New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Umran Malik is the talk of the town these days as he is consistently touching the 150kph-mark in the ongoing IPL 2022. Malik, who hails from Jammu, has scalped 10 wickets in the six matches he has played so far in the IPL season.
When asked who he would like to bowl to among the best batters in the tournament, Malik replied, “KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.” In a video interview with Sports Tak, Malik said, “Wanted to get KL Rahul out. I tried that out in our last match (SRH vs LSG). Our next match is against RCB and I would aim to get Kohli bhai out. I am a big fan of both these players (KL Rahul and Virat Kohli). I can only give my hundred per cent, rest is in God’s hand.”
Malik started his journey as a nets bowler for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and replaced Natarajan, who was out following an infection of Covid-19. He went on to produce the second-fastest ball of the tournament, a 152.95 kph brute against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
After that match in IPL 2021, the then India captain Virat Kohli had praised the youngster and said, “Whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential.” Malik was soon included in the Indian contingent as a net bowler for the T20 World Cup in Dubai and was also retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of this IPL.
In his last outing against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2022, Malik rattled them in the 20th over, picking three wickets without conceding a run. He had Odean Smith caught off the second delivery before cleaning up Rahul Chahar and Vaibhav Arora off the fourth and fifth balls, respectively. In the IPL, Malik became the fourth bowler to bowl a maiden in the 20th over after Irfan Pathan, Lasith Malinga, and Jaydev Unadkat.
