Umran Malik, the 155 kmph speedster from India, showed a lot of promise in the first couple of years of his IPL journey, came to the national side, and faded away rather soon due to form and injury issues. After spending considerable time with SRH in the league, he was not retained for IPL 2025, and was eventually bought by KKR.
Umran Malik Losing Way with Pace
His former bowling coach at SRH, Dale Steyn spoke about Umran Malik‘s rapid decline, after the 2022 season, where he also managed to clock 157 kmph and picked up 24 wickets. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Steyn clarified that the bowler was going off the radar.
“Just like a Ferrari has six gears, you don’t have to use all of them. A fast bowler must know when to use their speed wisely,” Steyn said. He continued, that Umran’s only focus was to bowl fast, and not on accuracy that is causing this downfall. “Sometimes, a player gets caught up in the moment. With 60,000 fans cheering, he might think, ‘I must bowl at 160 kph.’ But if that goes against the plan, he could go for 60-70 runs. That won’t help his team or his career.”
Ex-SRH Coach Dale Steyn Warns..
“A few bad matches, and you are out of the team. A season later, no franchise picks you. A bowler must harness their speed and use it effectively.” Now, despite being bagged by KKR, he is yet to join the team, and is allegedly yet to recover from the hip injury.
In 26 matches so far in the IPL, he has claimed 29 wickets, while his economy is at 9.39. His best season was in 2022 where in 14 matches he went on to pick 22 wickets. Last year, he only played one match for the franchise.
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