A new and improved Umran Malik was the talk of IPL 2022. His raw pace and ability to pick wickets left veterans and experts all praise for the youngsters who was soon handed his debut India cap a month after the tournament. However, the 24-year-old has started his IPL 2023 season on a poor note amid SRH's inability to adjust and make use of him in the XI. In seven games, he has picked up only five wickets at an economy rate of 10.35. On Saturday, legends of the game, Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen, were left utterly disappointed at his poor show against Delhi Capitals as they lashed out at him.
Umran was introduced into the attack after the end of the powerplay as went up against Phil Salt and Mitchell Marsh and it ended on a terrible note. Salt began and ended the over with a boundary while Marsh hit him for consecutive sixes as Umran leaked 22 runs in that over.
What left Shastri and Pietersen miffed was Umran's plan and lack of clarity. After the fourth ball, where Marsh smashed the leg-side delivery for a six over backward square leg, the former India head coach, while commentary, opined that the pacer should have changed his length and line, while also pointing out that a senior bowler like Bhuvneshwar Kumar should have been in his ears after conceding 17 runs in four deliveries.
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"He just played into the hands of the opposition. He needs someone like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar next to him telling him what exactly needs to be done. You can still go for runs but you need to alter the length. You come out there bowl four deliveries, all same length, wrong line and he has gone for 17 runs already. He can even try cross seam. In a situation like this when you don't have the confidence and you don't know where it is going, go cross seam and full and into the stumps," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"He just played into the hands of the opposition. He needs someone like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar next to him telling him what exactly needs to be done. You can still go for runs but you need to alter the length. You come out there bowl four deliveries, all same length, wrong line and he has gone for 17 runs already. He can even try cross seam. In a situation like this when you don't have the confidence and you don't know where it is going, go cross seam and full and into the stumps," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Pietersen, who was also in the commentary panel, blasted Umran for not taking a leaf out of Marsh's bowling, who picked four wickets for just 27 runs.
"I am not a bowler but sitting in the dressing room, our bowlers - the Broads and the Andersons - have all watched what the opposition did. They were always thinking and talking about what the opposition was doing. That is the learning gear. He should have understood what Mitch Marsh did with great success. What Umran Malik is doing here is not good. Take the pace off!" he said. "It was completely wrong. Every single delivery was on speed again. Where were all of Mitch Marsh's wickets? All were slower balls and leg cutters. It is really not that difficult to understand someone else from the opposition did which was successful."
Umran was not recalled into the attack as SRH avenged their defeat against DC with a nine-run win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.