Umran Malik the Jammu-Kashmir pacer made his IPL debut last year. Where he only played the later end of the tournament. But he left a strong impression on everyone with his raw pace. He also went on to bowl the fastest delivery in the IPL by an Indian fast bowler. He regularly bowls in the mid 140 km/h range and he also hits 150 K mark every now and then.
The real surprise came when the Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to retain Umran Malik this year along with Kane Williamson and Abdul Samad. That raised so many eyebrows as there were so many other players that could've been retained. But the Hyderabad franchise had other plans. They stuck with Umran Malik and the pacer has got a tremendous opportunity this year to show his talent on this big stage.
He already bowled with pace against the Rajasthan Royals team in their opening game. He was expensive but he did manage to pick 2 wickets. But his pace was the real talk of the town in that game. So many former Indian cricketers are talking about Umran Malik. If he is nurtured accordingly he could be the next Indian pace bowler with X-factor. India has been really good in these last few year in producing some quality fast bowlers. Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Siraj are the few names which come to my mind. The other two names are Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron. These two when they arrived at the scene could bowl at 150 km/h, but as they went along their pace also dropped down a bit. Specially with Varun Aaron who suffered so many injuries. Still thy bowl fast and they can hit high 140 K mark consistently on their good days.
Just hope Umran Malik could maintain his pace and improves his bowling abilities as he goes along. If he could better himself, he could become a new find for Indian cricket. Let's wait and watch.
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