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'If I only bowl 2 overs...': Umran's no-holds-barred message for SRH after Markram's bizarre ‘behind the scene' remark
Umran Malik opened up on the lack of opportunities in the 2023 edition for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and made an interesting remark on claims over his pace.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's star pacer Umran Malik had a disappointing season in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League. After a breakthrough 2022 season when he took 22 wickets in 14 matches, Umran struggled with consistency this year, and played only seven matches for the Sunrisers, registering five dismissals to his name. Umran has been included in SRH's final game of the season against Mumbai Indians; the side is already out of contention for a place in the playoffs.
Ahead of the game against MI, Umran talked to Murali Kartik for a brief interview where he talked about what went wrong in the 2023 season. The fast bowler insisted that he didn't get much overs in the matches he played, and once he was sidelined from the side, he continued to put in the hard yards.
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“Last year, I played all games and bowled all overs. This time, I bowled less overs and took 5 wickets only. When I wasn't playing, I was putting on the hard work. I hope to perform better today (against MI),” Umran told Kartik ahead of the game.
When Kartik said that Umran's speed has also been impacted this year, the pacer was quick to deny the claim, further reiterating that a fast bowler needs regular overs to get in rhythm and pace.
"I don't think my pace is impacted. If I bowl only two overs... I also need some overs to heat up my batteries and get that pace up. I'm trying to bowl the right lines with good speed, and with some variations.
“When the team needs wickets, I target wickets. Otherwise, I try to curb the flow of runs,” Umran said.
Interestingly, SRH captain Aiden Markram had made a rather bizarre comment on Umran's absence, when he was asked about the pacer during toss in SRH's previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. “Not too sure to be honest (about Umran). Certainly, he's a player with the X factor, bowls at 150kph, but I don't really what's about behind the scenes but he has a lot of X factor,” Markram had said.
Last year, an impressive IPL season earned him a maiden India call-up right after the end of the season. The 23-year-old speedster has since represented the national team in 8 ODIs and as many T20Is.
