Hailing from a small town in Jammu, Umran Malik has made a mark on the wooden stumps and in the cricketing world with his thunderous pace, that saw even a seasoned and in-form batter like David Miller searching for the ball off the pitch.
In the match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans on April 27, 2022, Malik took five wickets in his quota of four overs while giving away only 25 runs. However, the stats, as impressive as they are, still don’t reflect the devastation that Malik caused to the Titans’ batters.
Not packing a huge swing or fiery yorkers in his arsenal for now, the right-arm speedster made the batters’ life hell by sheer pace, and whistling bouncers which kept the batters second-guessing their shots. On a pitch which witnessed 394 runs being scored in 40 overs, Malik took five wickets, four of which were clean bowled, and mind you again, not by yorkers, but quick length balls. For many, Malik’s spell was a fond reminder of the unplayable deliveries hurling out of Shoaib Akhtar’s hands, otherwise known as the Rawalpindi Express.
