On This Day: Birthday of Jammu and Kashmir pace sensetion Umran Malik

November 22, 1999—birthday of Indian pace star Umran Malik, who emerged as an exceptionally talented bowler from Jammu and Kashmir. Malik quickly gained fame because of his raw pace.

During the IPL 2022 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the pacer clocked 156.9 kph. Malik went under the limelight from a very humble background. He was a product of tennis cricket. Even at one stage, he was not aware of boots with spikes professional cricketers use during matches. The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise first spotted the talent and offered him the chance to show what he could do.

The fast bowler came into the SRH squad during the IPL 2021 season as the replacement for injured T. Natarajan. In that season, Malik, who was not a very popular face in Indian cricket, got a very limited number of matches, but enough for him to display his talent and potential. Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, the club retained him for another season, as he was able to take a couple of wickets in 3 matches in the previous season.

Umran Malik quickly made India debut after a stellar IPL season

IPL 2022 was the season when the seamer showed his actual potential. In that campaign, he bowled supremely well. In 14 matches, he got 22 wickets at an economy rate of 9.03, including 5 for 25 against Gujarat Titans in a losing cause. In this game, four out of five were bowled, and the other was beaten for pace by a bouncer. He clocked 156.9 kph during the tournament.

After the eye-catching performance throughout the tournament, he made his T20I and ODI debuts for Team India. But repeated injury and fitness concerns quickly derailed the luxury pacer's career path. After the Team India debut, he perhaps also got to learn that only raw pace is not enough for creating a long, successful career.