Umran Malik earned his maiden India call-up after taking 22 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022 and bowling at over 150 km/h on a consistent basis.
SRH’s Umran Malik. Credits: PTI
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- Malik took 22 wickets in IPL 2022
- Malik consistently bowled at a speed of 150 km/h
- Malik earns his first India call-up for South Africa series
Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umran Malik was ranked 9th after he was called up to play for India in the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. A year ago, Malik was someone who had little experience of playing for his home team, let alone playing at a higher level.
But after his inclusion as T Natarajan’s replacement in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), his luck has turned for the better. In the 2022 edition of the IPL, Malik was the leading wicket-taker for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), taking 22 wickets in 14 matches.
“Thank God, I got the call-up of India as it was my dream to play for the country,” Umran was quoted as saying in a video uploaded on the official Twitter handle of BCCI.
Umran recently attended India’s practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi before facing the Proteas. Young Turks were delighted after chatting with head coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
“I was very excited as I joined Team India and practiced with everyone. I was positive that I would be able to bowl well, I was confident,” he said. “The team environment is healthy because everyone is like brothers after playing together in the IPL.”
He said, ‘I am happy to interact with a legend like Rahul sir. He advised me to stick to my strategies. Paras sir was also telling me about how to bowl and that gave me a lot of confidence because if any coach talks to you then it is for your improvement.
Umran also mentioned how he used to like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
“When I used to play with tennis ball, I used to see Bhuvi bhai, Shami bhai and Bumrah bowling yorkers,” he said.